PRINCETON,  N.  J.  '*^ 


i  •C>TDTTVTr»T?'T>/-MVT      ^T        T  ♦J 


Presented    byV C \ V^. 0\x^"r\0  VcX  ^OT^^vA^oV, 


BV  4501  .R9  1853 
Ryle,  J,  C.  1816-1900. 
Startling  questions 


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CJ.^//l.. 


■/.^.  /r^'J. 


STARTLING   QUESTIONS. 


BY   THE^ 

EEV.  J.  C.  EYLE,  B.A., 

AUTHOR    OF   "  LIVING    OR   DEAD  "?"   "  WHEAT    OR   CHAFF  1"   ETC. 


N  E  W  Y  0  R  K  : 
ROBERT    CARTER    &    BROTHERS, 

No.    285    BROADWAY. 
1853. 


T.    B.    SMITH,    STKREOTYPBR, 
216  WILLIAM  STREET,  N.  Y. 


R.    CRAIGHEAD,    PRINTER, 
53  VKSEY  STE  EET,  N.  Y. 


-J 


€nniiuiB. 


Page 
Where  art   Thou  ? 5 

Are  you   an    Heir  ?. 43 

Shall  you  be  Saved  ? 90 

How  READEST  Thou  ? 144 

What   thixx  y'ou   of   the    Crors  ? 260 

Have  you  Assurance  ? 304 


L..., 


Eeader, — 

The  question  before  your  eyes  is  the  first 
which  God  asked  of  man  after  the  fall.  It  is 
the  question  He  put  to  Adam  in  the  day  that 
he  ate  the  forbidden  fruit,  and  became  a  sin- 
ner. 

In  vain  did  Adam  and  his  wife  hide  them- 
selves among  the  trees  of  the  garden  of  Eden. 
In  vain  did  they  try  to  escape  the  eye  of  the 
all-seeing  God.  They  heard  the  voice  of  the 
Lord  God  walking  in  the  cool  of  the  day. 
"  And  the  Lord  God  called  unto  Adam,  and 
said  unto  him,  Where  art  thou  ?"  (Gen.  iii.  9.) 
Think  for  a  moment  hov\^  awful  those  words 
must  have  sounded  1  Think  what  the  feelings 
of  Adam  and  Eve  must  have  been ! 

Reader,  6,000  years  have  well-nigh  passed 
away  since  this  question  v/as  first  asked.    Mil- 


"where  art  thou?" 


lions  of  Adam's  children  have  lived  and  died, 
and  gone  to  their  own  place.  Millions  are  yet 
upon  earth,  and  every  one  of  them  has  a  soul 
to  be  lost  or  saved.  But  no  question  ever  has 
been,  or  ever  can  be  asked  more  solemn  than 
that  which  is  before  you : — Where  art  thou  ? 
Where  art  thou  in  the  sight  of  God? — Come  now, 
and  give  me  your  attention,  while  I  tell  you  a 
few  things  which  may  throw  light  upon  this 
question. 

I  know  not  who  you  are, — whether  you  are 
a  Churchman  or  a  Dissenter ; — whether  you 
are  learned  or  unlearned; — whether  you  are 
rich  or  poor  ; — whether  you  are  old  or  young : 
about  all  this  I  know  nothing.  But  I  do  know 
that  you  have  got  an  immortal  soul,  and  I 
want  that  soul  to  be  saved.  I  do  know  that 
you  have  got  to  stand  before  the  judgment- 
seat  of  Grod,  and  I  want  you  to  be  prepared 
for  it.  I  do  know  that  you  will  be  forever  in 
heaven  or  in  hell,  and  I  want  you  to  escape 
hell,  and  reach  heaven.  I  do  know  that  the 
Bible  contains  most  solemn  things  about  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth,  and  I  want  every 


"WHEEE   AET   THOTJ  ?" 


man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  world  to  hear 
them.  I  believe  every  word  in  the  Bible ;  and 
because  I  believe  it,  I  ask  every  reader  of  this 
paper,  "  Where  art  thou  in  the  sight  of  GodP' 

I.  In  the  first  place,  there  are  many  people 
about  whom  the  Bible  shows  me  I  ought  to  be 
exceedingly  afraid.  Reader,  art  thou  one  of 
them? 

There  are  those,  who,  if  Bible  words  mean 
anything,  have  not  yet  been  converted  and 
born  again.  They  are  not  justified.  They 
are  not  sanctified.  They  have  not  the  Spirit. 
They  have  no  faith.  They  have  no  grace. 
Their  sins  are  not  forgiven.  Their  hearts  are 
not  changed.  They  are  not  ready  to  die.  * 
They  are  not  meet  for  heaven.  They  are  nei- 
ther godly,  nor  righteous,  nor  saints.  If  they 
are,  Bible  words  mean  nothing  at  all. 

Some  of  these  persons,  to  all  appearance, 
think  no  more  about  their  souls  than  the 
beasts  that  perish.  There  is  nothing  to  show 
that  they  think  of  the  life  to  come  any  more 
than  the  horse  and  ox,  which  have  no  under- 
standing.    Their  treasure  is  evidently  all  on 


earth.  Their  good  things  are  plainly  all  on 
this  side  of  the  grave.  Their  attention  is 
swallowed  up  by  the  perishable  things  of  time. 
Meat,  drink,  and  clothing, — money,  houses, 
and  land, — business,  pleasure,  or  politics, — • 
marrying,  reading,  or  company ; — these  are 
the  kind  of  things  which  fill  their  hearts. 
They  live  as  if  there  were  no  such  book  as 
the  Bible.  They  go  on  as  if  resurrection  and 
eternal  judgment  were  not  true,  but  a  lie.  As 
to  grace,  and  conversion,  and  justification,  and 
holiness, — they  are  things  which,  like  Gallio, 
they  care  not  for  ; — they  are  words  and  names 
they  are  either  ignorant  of,  or  despise.  They 
'  are  all  going  to  die.  They  are  all  going  to  be 
judged.  And  yet  they  seem  to  be  even  mor§ 
hardened  than  the  devil,  for  they  appear  nei- 
ther  to  believe  nor  tremble.  Alas  !  what  a 
state  this  is  for  an  immortal  soul  to  be  in  I 
But  oh  !  how  common  ! 

Some  of  the  persons  I  speak  of  have  got  a 
form  of  religion,  but  after  all  it  is  nothing  but 
a  form.  They  profess  and  call  themselves 
Christians.     They  go  to  a  place  of  worship  on 


Sunday.  But  when  you  have  said  that,  you 
have  said  all.  Where  is  the  religion  of  the 
New  Testament  to  be  seen  in  their  lives  ? 
Nowhere  at  all !  Sin  is  plainly  not  consid- 
ered their  worst  enemy,  nor  the  Lord  Jesus 
their  best  friend, — nor  the  will  of  Grod  their 
rule  of  life, — nor  salvation  the  great  end  of 
their  existence.  The  spirit  of  slumber  keeps 
possession  of  their  hearts,  and  they  are  at  ease, 
self-satisfied,  and  content.  They  are  in  a  Lao- 
dicean frame  of  mind,  and  fancy  they  have 
enough  religion. 

God  speaks  to  them  continually,  by  mercies, 
— by  afflictions, — by  Sabbaths, — by  sermons  ; 
but  they  will  not  hear.  Jesus  knocks  at  the 
door  of  their  hearts,  but  they  will  not  open. 
They  are  told  of  death  and  eternity,  and  re- 
main unconcerned.  They  are  warned  against 
the  love  of  the  world,  and  plunge  into  it  week 
after  week  without  shame.  They  hear  of 
Christ  coming  upon  earth  to  die  for  sinners, 
and  go  away  unmoved.  There  seems  a  place 
in  their  hearts  for  everything  but  God ; — room 
for  business, — room  for  pleasures, — room  for 


trifling, — room  for  sin, — room  for  the  devil, — 
room  for  the  world :  but,  like  the  inn  at  Beth- 
lehem, no  room  for  Him  who  made  them, — no 
admission  for  Jesus,  the  Spirit,  and  the  Word. 
Alas  !  what  a  condition  of  things  this  is !  But 
alas !  how  common  I 

Keader,  I  put  it  solemnly  to  your  conscience, 
as  in  the  sight  of  God,  are  you  one  of  those 
persons  whom  I  have  just  described  ?  There 
are  thousjjnds  of  such  people  in  our  land, — 
thousands  in  Great  Britain, — thousands  in  Ire- 
land,— thousands  in  our  country  parishes, — 
thousands  in  our  towns, — thousands  among 
Churchmen, — thousands  among  Dissenters, — 
thousands  among  rich,  —  thousands  among 
poor.  Now,  are  you  one  of  them  ?  If  you 
are,  I  fear  for  you, — I  tremble  for  you, — I  am 
alarmed  for  you, — I  am  exceeding!}'-  afraid. 

What  is  it  that  I  fear  for  you  ?  I  fear  every- 
thing. I  fear  lest  you  should  persist  in  reject- 
ing Christ  till  you  have  sinned  away  your  own 
soul.  I  fear  lest  you  be  given  over  to  a  repro- 
bate mind,  and  awake  no  more.  I  fear  lest 
you  come  to  such  deadness  and  hardness  of 


heart,  that  nothing  but  the  voice  of  the  arch- 
angel and  the  trump  of  God  will  break  your 
sleep.  I  fear  lest  you  cling  to  this  vain  world 
so  closely,  that  nothing  but  death  will  part  it 
and  you.  I  fear  lest  you  should  live  without 
Christ,  die  without  pardon,  rise  again  without 
hope,  receive  judgment  without  mercy,  and 
sink  into  hell  without  remedy. 

Eeader,  I  must  warn  you,  though  I  may 
seem,  like  Lot,  as  one  that  mocks.  I  do  sol- 
emnly warn  you  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to 
come.  I  entreat  you  to  remember  that  the 
Bible  is  all  true,  and  must  be  fulfilled, — that 
the  end  of  your  present  ways  is  misery  and 
sorrov/, — that  without  holiness  no  man  shall 
see  the  Lord, — that  the  wicked  shall  be  turned 
into  hell,  and  all  the  people  that  forget  God, 
— that  God  shall  one  day  take  account  of  all 
your  doings,  and  that  Christless  sinners  like 
yourself  can  never  stand  in  His  sight,  for  he 
is  holy,  and  a  consuming  fire.  Oh  !  that  you 
would  consider  these  things !  Where  is  the 
man  that  can  hold  his  finger  for  a  minute  in 


the  flame  of  a  candle  ?  Who  shall  dwell  with, 
everlasting  burnings  ? 

I  know  well  the  thoughts  that  Satan  will 
j)ut  into  your  heart,  as  you  read  these  words. 
I  know  well  the  excuses  that  you  are  going  to 
make.  You  will  tell  me,  "religion  is  all  very 
well,  but  a  man  must  live."  I  answer,  "it  is 
quite  true  a  man  must  live^  but  it  is  no  less 
true  that  he  must  also  die^  You  may  tell  me, 
"a  man  cannot  starve."  I  answer,  "  that  I  do 
not  want  any  one  to  starve,  but  neither  also 
do  I  want  any  one  to  burn  in  hell."  You 
may  tell  me,  "a  man  must  mind  his  business 
first  in  this  world."  I  answer,  "yes!  and  the 
first  business  a  man  should  mind  is  his  eternal 
business, — the  business  of  his  soul." 

Eeader,  I  beseech  you  in  all  affection  to 
break  off  your  sins, — to  repent  and  be  con- 
verted. I  beseech  you  to  change  your  course, 
— to  alter  your  ways  about  religion, — to  turn 
from  your  present  carelessness  about  your 
soul,  and  become  a  new  man.  I  offer  to  you 
through  Jesus  Christ  the  forgiveness  of  all 
past  sins, — free  and   complete  forgiveness, — 


ready,  present,  everlasting  forgiveness.     I  tell 
you  in  my  Master's  name,  that  if  you  will  turn 
to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  this  forgiveness  shall 
at  once  be  your  own.     Oh !  do  not  refuse  so 
gracious  an  invitation.     Do  not  hear  of  Christ 
dying  for  you,— Christ  shedding    His  own 
blood    for   you,— Christ   stretching  out   His 
hands  to  you,  and  yet  remain  unmoved.     Do 
not  love  this  poor  perishing  world  better  than 
eternal  life.     Dare  to  be  bold  and  decided. 
Eesolve  to  come  out  from  the  broad  way 
which  leads  to  destruction.     Arise  and  escape 
for  your  life,  while  it  is  called  to-day.     Ee- 
pent,  believe,  pray,  and  be  saved. 

Eeader,  I  fear  for  you  in  your  present  state. 
My  heart's  desire  and  prayer  is  that  God  may 
make  you  fear  for  yourself 

11.  In  the  second  place  there  are  many  peo- 
ple about  whom  the  Bible  shows  me  I  ought  to 
stand  in  doubt.     Eeader,  art  thou  one  of  these  ? 

There  are  many  whom  I  must  call  almost 
Christians,  for  I  know  no  other  expression  in 
the  Bible  which  so  exactly  describes  their 
state.     They  have  many  things  about  them 


which  are  right,  and  good,  and  praiseworthy 
in  the  sight  of  God.  They  are  regular  and 
moral  in  their  lives.  They  are  free  from  glar- 
ing outward  sins.  They  keep  up  many  de- 
cent and  proper  habits.  They  are  usually 
diligent  in  their  attendance  on  means  of  grace. 
They  appear  to  love  the  preaching  of  the  Gos- 
pel. They  are  not  offended  at  the  truth  as  it 
is  in  Jesus,  however  plainly  it  may  be  spoken. 
They  have  no  objection  to  religious  company, 
religious  books,  and  religious  talk.  They 
agree  to  all  you  say  when  you  speak  to  them 
about  their  souL     And  all  this  is  well. 

But  still  there  is  no  movement  in  the  hearts 
of  these  people  that  even  a  microscope  can  de- 
tect. They  are  like  those  who  stand  still. 
Weeks  after  weeks,  years  after  years  roll  over 
their  heads,  and  they  are  just  where  they 
were.  They  sit  under  our  pulpits.  They  ap- 
prove of  onr  sermons.  And  yet,  like  Pha- 
raoh's lean  kine,  they  are  nothing  the  better 
apparently  for  all  they  receive.  There  is  al- 
ways the  same  regularity  about  them, — the 
same  constant  attendance  on  means  of  grace, 


"WHEEE   ART   THOU?"  15 

— the  same  wishing  and  hoping, — the  same 
way  of  talking  about  rehgion ;  but  there  is 
nothing  more.  There  is  no  going  forward  in 
their  Christianity.  There  is  no  life,  and  heat, 
and  reality  in  it.  Their  souls  seem  to  be  at 
a  dead  lock.     And  all  this  is  sadly  wrong. 

Header,  are  you  one  of  these  people  ?  There 
are  thousands  of  them  in  this  day, — thousands 
in  our  churches,  and  thousands  in  our  chapels. 
I  ask  you  to  give  an  honest  answer  to  the  ' 
question :  Is  this  the  state  of  your  soul  in  the 
sight  of  God  ?  If  it  is,  I  can  only  say  your 
condition  is  most  unsatisfactory.  As  the  apos- 
tle said  to  the  Galatians,  so  I  say  to  you,  "I 
stand  in  doubt  of  you." 

How  can  I  feel  otherwise  about  you? 
There  are  but  two  sides  in  the  world, — the 
side  of  Christ  and  the  side  of  the  devil ;  and 
yet  you  make  it  doubtful  on  which  side  you 
ought  to  be  placed.  I  dare  not  say  you  are 
altogether  careless  about  religion,  but  I  cannot 
call  you  decided.  I  shrink  from  numbering 
you  among  the  ungodly,  but  I  may  not  place 
you  among  the  Lord's  children.     You  have 


16  "where  art  thou?" 

some  light ;  but  is  it  saving  knowledge  ?  You 
have  some  feeling ;  but  is  it  grace  ?  You  are 
not  profane ;  but  are  you  a  man  of  God  ?  You 
may  possibly  be  one  of  the  Lord's  people ;  but 
you  dwell  so  near  the  borders,  tliat  I  cannot 
discern  to  what  nation  you  belong.  You  may 
not  perhaps  be  spiritually  dead ;  but  like  a 
sickly  tree  in  winter,  I  hardly  know  whether 
you  are  alive.  And  thus  you  live  on  without 
satisfactory  evidences.  I  cannot  help  doubt- 
ing about  you.     Surely  there  is  a  cause. 

I  cannot  read  the  secrets  of  your  hearts. 
Perhaps  there  is  some  pet  bosom  sin,  which 
you  are  holding  fast,  and  will  not  give  up. 
This  is  a  disease  which  checks  the  growth  of 
many  a  professing  Christian.  Perhaps  you 
are  kept  back  by  the  fear  of  man :  you  are 
afraid  of  the  blame  or  laughter  of  your  fellow 
creatures.  This  is  an  iron  chain  that  fetters 
many  a  soul.  Perhaps  you  are  careless  about 
private  prayer  and  communion  with  God. 
This  is  one  reason  why  multitudes  are  weak 
and  sickly  in  spirit.  But  whatever  your  rea- 
son be,  I  warn  you  in  all  affection  to  take  care 


a 


WHERE   ART  THOU  ?"  17 


what  you  are  doing.  Your  state  is  neither 
satisfactory  nor  safe.  Like  the  Gibeonites, 
jou  are  found  in  the  train  of  Israel,  but  like 
them  you  have  no  title  to  Israel's  portion, 
Israel's  consolations,  and  Israel's  rewards.  Oh ! 
awake  to  a  sense  of  your  danger  I  Strive  to 
enter  in. 

Header,  you  must  give  up  this  halting  be- 
tween two  opinions,  if  ever  you  mean  to  enjoy 
good  evidences  of  your  salvation.    There  must 
be  an  alteration   in   you.     There  must  be  a 
move.     There  is  no  real  standing  still  in  true 
Christianity.     If  Grod's  work  is  not  going  for- 
ward in  a  man's  heart,  the  devil's  is ;  and  if  a 
man  is  always  at  the  same  point  in  religion,  the 
probability  is  that  he  has  got  no  real  religion 
at  all.     It  is  not  enough  to  wear  Christ's  liv- 
ery ;  we  must  also  fight  Christ's  battle.     It  is 
not  enough  to  cease  to  do  evil ;  we  must  also 
learn  to  do  well.     It  will  not  suffice  to  do  no 
harm  ;  we  must  also  labor  to  do  good.     Oh ! 
tremble,  lest  you  should  prove  an  unprofitable 
receiver  of  God's  talents, — a  barren  cumberer 
of  the  ground,  and  your  end  be  to  be  burned. 

2 


Eemember,   lie   that    is   not   wifh   Christ,   is 
against  Him. 

Keader,  I  charge  you  strongly  never  to  rest 
till  you  have  found  whether  you  have  grace 
in  your  heart  or  not.  Wishes  and  desires,  and 
good  feelings,  and  convictions,  are  all  excellent 
things  in  their  way,  but  they  alone  will  never 
save  you.  I  like  to  see  l3uds  and  blossoms  on 
a  tree,  but  I  like  better  to  see  ripe  fruit.  The 
way-side  hearers  in  the  parable  listened,  but 
the  word  took  no  root  in  them ; — they  were 
not  saved.  The  stony  ground  hearers  listen- 
ed with  joy,  but  the  word  had  no  depth  in 
them ; — they  were  not  saved.  The  thorny 
ground  hearers  brought  forth  something  like 
fruit,  but  the  word  was  choked  by  the  world ; 
— they  were  not  saved.  Do  you  tremble  at 
the  word  ?  So  also  did  Felix,  but  he  was  not 
saved.  Do  you  like  to  hear  good  sermons  and 
many  things  which  are  right  ?  So  also  did 
Herod,  but  he  was  not  saved.  Do  you  wish 
to  die  the  death  of  the  righteous  ?  So  did 
Balaam,  but  he  was  not  saved.  Have  you 
knowledge?     So  had  Judas  Iscariot,  but  he 


was  not  saved.  And  shall  you  be  saved 
as  you  are?  I  doubt  it.  Eemember  Lot's 
wife. 

Eeader,  once  more  I  call  upon  you  to  take 
care  what  you  are  doing.  If  you  will  not  stir 
up  yourself  to  go  forward,  how  should  I  feel 
anything  but  doubt  about  your  soul. 

But  there  are  others  about  whom  I  stand  in 
doubt,  who  are  in  worse  case  even  than  the 
almost  Christians.  These  are  those  who  once 
made  a  high  profession  of  religion,  but  have 
now  given  it  up.  They  were  once  reckoned 
to  be  true  believers,  but  they  have  turned 
back  again  to  the  world  and  fallen  away. 
They  have  gone  back  from  the  point  in  reli- 
gion they  once  seemed  to  have  reached.  They 
walk  no  more  in  the  ways  they  once  seemed 
to  choose.     In  short,  they  are  backsliders. 

Reader,  is  this  the  state  of  your  soul  ?  If 
it  is,  know  for  a  certainty  that  your  condition 
is  most  unsatisfactory.  It  matters  little  what 
your  past  experience  was.  It  proves  little 
that  you  were  counted  among  true  Christians  ? 
It  may  have  been  all  a  mistake  and  a  delusion. 


n 


20  "where  art  thotj?" 

It  is  your  present  condition  of  soul  that  I  look 
at,  and  as  I  do  so,  I  stand  in  doubt. 

I  believe  tliere  was  a  time  wlien  all  the  saints 
of  God  who  saw  you  rejoiced  at  the  sight. 
You  seemed  then  to  love  the  Lord  Jesus  in 
sincerity,  and  to  be  wilHng  to  give  up  the 
broad  way  forever,  and  forsake  all  for  the  Gos- 
pel's sake.     The  Word  of  God  appeared  sweet 
and  precious  to  you ;    the  voice  of  Christ's 
ministers  a  most  pleasant  sound ;  the  assembly 
of  the  Lord's  people  the  place  you  loved  best ; 
the  company  of  true  believers  your  chief  de- 
light.    You  were  never  missing  at  the  weekly 
meeting.     Your  place   was   never  empty   at 
Church.     Your  Bible  was  never  long  out  of 
your  hands.     There  were  no  days  in  your  life 
without  prayer.     Your  zeal  was  indeed  fer- 
vent.    Your  religious   affections   were   truly 
warm.     You  did  run  well  for  a  season.     But, 
oh  I  reader,  where,  where  are  you  now  ? 

You  have  gone  back  to  the  world.  You 
lingered  ;  you  looked  back ;  you  returned  ;  I 
fear  you  had  left  your  heart  behind  you.  You 
have  taken  up  the  old  man's  deeds  once  more* 


You  have  left  your  first  love.  Your  goodness 
has  proved  like  the  morning  clouds,  and  as 
the  early  dew  it  has  gone  away.  Your  serious 
impressions  are  fast  dying  off ;  they  are  getting 
weaker  and  fainter  every  day.  Your  convic- 
tions are  fast  withering  up  ;  they  are  changing 
color  like  leaves  in  autumn — they  will  soon 
drop  off  and  disappear.  The  gray  hairs,  which 
tell  of  decline,  are  coming  here  and  there  upon 
you.  The  preaching  you  once  hung  upon, 
now  wearies  you.  The  books  you  delighted 
in  give  pleasure  no  more.  The  progress  of 
Christ's  Gospel  is  no  longer  interesting.  The 
company  of  God's  children  is  no  longer  sought. 
They  or  you  must  he  changed. — You  are  becom- 
ing shy  of  holy  people,  impatient  of  rebuke 
and  advice,  uncertain  in  your  tempers,  careless 
about  little  sins,  not  afraid  of  mixing  with  the 
world.  Once  it  was  not  so. — You  may  keep  up 
some  form  of  religion  perhaps,  but  as  to  vital 
godliness  you  are  fast  cooling  down.  Already 
you  are  lukewarm ;  by-and-by  you  will  bo 
cold  ;  and  before  long  you  will  be  icy,  religion- 
frozen,  and  more  dead  than  you  were  before. 


You  are  grieving  tlie  Spirit,  and  He  will  soon 
leave  you.  You  are  tempting  the  devil,  and 
he  will  soon  come  to  you  ;  your  heart  is  ready 
for  him;  your  last  state  will  be  worse  than 
your  first.  Oh  1  reader,  strengthen  the  things 
which  remain  which  are  ready  to  die.  How 
can  I  possibly  help  feeling  doubt  about  your 
soul?^ 

But  I  cannot  let  you  go  without  trying  to 

*  I  find  that  many  people  object  to  the  expression, 
"  You  are  grieving  the  Spirit,  and  He  will  soon  leave  you." 
On  calm  reflection  I  am  not  disposed  to  alter  it.  I  think  it 
dangerous  to  attempt  to  be  more  systematic  than  the  Bible 
in  our  theology.  I  think  there  is  Scriptural  warrant  for 
saying  that  an  unconverted  man  who  possesses  great  light 
and  knowledge  in  the  things  of  religion,  and  yet  refuses  to 
give  up  sin  and  the  world,  does,  in  a  certain  sense,  grieve  the 
Holy  Spirit.  I  would  refer  to  Isai.  Ixiii.  10;  Acts,  vii.  51 ; 
Heb.  X.  29.  In  taking  this  ground,  I  believe  I  am  in  entire 
harmony  with  one  of  the  most  Scriptural  divines  that  ever 
lived ;  I  mean  John  Bunyan.  In  "  Pilgrim's  Progress"  he 
represents  the  man  in  the  iron  cage  at  the  Interpreter's 
house,  saying  to  Christian,  "  I  sinned  against  the  light  of 
the  word,  and  the  goodness  of  God.  I  have  grieved  the 
Spirit,  and  He  is  gone.  Tempted  the  devil,  and  he  has  come 
to  me.     I  have  provoked  God  to  anger,  and  He  has  left  me.'' 

The  length  to  which  people  may  go  in  a  profession  of  re- 
ligion, and  yet  remain  unconverted  in  heart  and  be  lost  at 
last,  is  one  of  the  most  awful  and  soul-searching  points  in 
theology. 


i... 


"where  art  thou?"  23 

do  you  good.  I  do  pity  you  indeed,  because 
you  are  so  unhappy.  I  know  it ;  I  am  sure 
of  it ;  it  is  useless  to  deny  it.  You  have  been 
unhappy  ever  since  you  fell  away.  You  are 
unhappy  at  home,  and  unhappy  abroad ;  un- 
happy in  company,  and  unhappy  alone ;  un- 
happy when  you  lie  down,  and  unhappy  when 
you  rise  up.  You  may  have  got  riches,  honor, 
love,  obedience,  friends ;  but  yet  the  sting  re- 
mains. There  is  a  famine  of  consolation  about 
you ;  there  is  an  utter  dearth  of  inward  peace. 
You  are  sick  at  heart ;  you  are  ill  at  ease ; 
you  are  discontented  with  every  body,  because 
you  are  discontented  with  yourself.  You  are 
like  a  bird  that  has  wandered  from  her  nest — 
you  never  feel  in  your  right  place.  You  have 
too  much  religion  to  enjoy  the  world,  and  too 
little  religion  to  enjoy  God.  You  are  weary 
of  life,  and  yet  afraid  to  die.  Truly  the  words 
of  Solomon  are  made  good  in  your  case,  "  You 
are  filled  with  your  own  ways." 

Eeader,  notwithstanding  all  your  backslid- 
ings,  there  is  hope  even  for  you.  There  is  no 
disease  of  soul  that  the  glorious  Gospel  cannot 


cure.     There  is  a  remedy  even  for  your  case, — 
humbling,  pride-lowering,  I  know, — but  a  sure 
remedy  ;  and  I  earnestly  beseech  you  to  take 
it.     That  remedy  is  the  fountain  opened  for 
all  sins, — the  free  mercy  of  God  in   Christ 
Jesus.     Go  and  wash  in  that  fountain  without 
delay,  and  Jesus  Christ  shall  make  thee  whole. 
Take  down  your  neglected  Bible,  and  see 
how  David  fell  and  lay  in  foul  sin  a  whole 
year,  and  yet  when  he  repented  and  turned  to 
God,  there  was  mercy  for  him.     Turn  to  the 
history  of  the  apostle  Peter,  and  see  how  he 
denied  his  Master  three  times  with  an  oath, 
and  yet  when  he  wept  and  humbled  himself, 
there  was  mercy  for  him.     Hear  what  comfort- 
able words  our  Lord  and  Saviour  sends  to  you 
this  day,  "  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor  and 
are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest." 
*'  Thou  hast  played  the  harlot   with  many 
lovers,  yet,  return  again  to  me."     "  Though 
your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as  white 
as  snow  ;  though  they  be  red  like  crimson, 
they  shall  be  as  wool."     "  Eeturn,  ye  back- 
sliding children,  and  I  will  heal  your  back- 


slidings."  Oh !  that  you  may  take  up  the 
words  of  Israel  this  day,  and  reply,  "  Behold, 
I  come  unto  thee,  for  thou  art  the  Lord  my 
God."  (Matt.  xi.  28 ;  Jer.  iii.  1 ;  Isai.  i.  18  ; 
Jer.  iii.  22.) 

Eeader,  I  pray  God  these  words  may  not  be 
brought  before  you  in  vain.  But  remember, 
until  you  turn  from  your  backslidings,  I  must 
stand  in  doubt  about  your  soul. 

III.  In  the  third  place  there  are  some  people 
about  whom  the  Bible  tells  me  /  ov^ht  to  ftd 
a  good  hope.     Reader,  art  thou  one  of  these  ? 

The  people  I  speak  of  have  found  out  that 
they  are  guilty  sinners,  and  have  fled  to  Christ 
by  faith  for  salvation.  They  have  found  out 
that  sin  is  a  miserable  and  unhappy  thing,  and 
they  hate  it,  and  long  to  be  free  from  its  pres- 
ence altogether.  In  themselves  they  see  no- 
thing but  weakness  and  corruption,  but  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  they  see  the  very  things  their  souls 
require ; — pardon,  peace,  light,  comfort,  and 
strength.  Christ's  blood,  Christ's  cross,  Christ's 
righteousness,  Christ's  intercession, — these  are 
the  things  on  which  their  minds  love  to  dwell. 


Their  affections  are  now  set  on  things  above. 
They  care  for  nothing  so  much  as  pleasing  God. 
While  they  live,  their  chief  desire  is  to  live  to 
the  Lord.  When  they  die,  their  only  desire 
is  to  die  in  the  Lord.  After  death,  their  hope 
is  that  they  shall  be  with  tl>e  Lord. 

Keader,  is  this  the  state  of  your  soul  ?  Do 
you  know  anything  of  the  faith  and  hope,  and 
affections  and  experience,  which  I  have  just 
described?  Do  you  find  anything  in  your 
heart  which  answers  to  the  account  I  have  just 
given  ? — If  you  do,  I  thank  God  for  it, — I  con- 
gratulate you  in  your  condition, — I  feel  a  good 
hope  about  your  soul. 

I  know  well  that  you  live  in  a  world  full  of 
trials.  You  are  yet  in  the  wilderness ;  you 
are  not  at  home.  I  know  well  that  pride,  and 
unbelief,  and  sloth  are  continually  struggling 
for  the  mastery  within  you.  You  have  fight- 
ings without  and  fears  within.  I  doubt  not 
your  heart  is  so  treacherous  and  deceitful  that 
you  are  often  sick  of  yourself  and  say,  "  Never 
was  heart  like  mine."  But  notwithstanding 
all  this.  I  must  hope  well  for  your  soul. 


"where  akt  thou?"  27 

I  hope,  because  I  believe  that  God  has  begun 
a  work  in  you  which  He  will  never  allow  to 
be  overthrown.  Who  taught  you  to  hate  sin 
and  love  Christ  ?  Who  made  you  come  out 
from  the  world  and  delight  in  God's  service  ? 
These  things  do  not  come  from  your  own  heart. 
Nature  bears  no  such  fruit.  These  things  are 
the  work  of  God,  who  where  He  begins,  al- 
ways finishes  ;  who  where  He  gives  grace,  will 
also  give  glory.  Surely,  here  is  ground  for 
hope. 

I  hope,  because  I  believe  you  have  an  in- 
terest in  an  everlasting  covenant,  a  covenant 
ordered  in  all  things  and  sure.  The  stamp  of 
heaven  is  upon  you.  The  marks  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  are  on  your  soul.  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost,  have  all  engaged  to  carry  out 
your  soul's  salvation.  There  is  a  threefold 
cord  around  you  which  never  yet  was  broken. 
Surely,  here  is  ground  for  hope. 

I  hope  because  you  have  a  Saviour,  whose 
blood  can  cleanse  from  all  sin, — a  Saviour  who 
invites  all,  and  casts  out  none  that  come  to 
Him, — a    Saviour   who  will  not  break   the 


bruised  reed,  nor  quench  tlie  smoking  flax, — 
a  Saviour  who  can  be  touched  with  the  feel- 
ing of  your  infirmities,  and  is  not  ashamed  to 
call  you  brethren, — a  Saviour  who  never  alters, 
the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever,  al- 
ways able  to  save  to  the  uttermost,  always 
mighty  to  save.  Surely  here  is  ground  for 
hope. 

I  hope,  because  the  love  of  Christ  is  a  love 
that  passeth  knowledge.  So  free  and  unde- 
served !  So  costly,  even  unto  death  !  So  power- 
ful and  all-conquering  !  So  unchanging  and  en- 
during !  So  patient  and  forbearing !  So  ten- 
der and  sympathizing  !  Truly  our  sins  pass 
knowledge,  and  this  is  the  very  love  our  souls 
need.     Surely  here  is  ground  for  hope. 

I  hope  because  God  has  given  to  you  ex- 
ceeding great  and  precious  promises, — prom- 
ises of  being  kept  unto  the  end, — promises  of 
grace  for  every  time  of  need,  and  strength  ac- 
cording to  your  day, — promises  that  never  yet 
were  broken,  all  yea  and  amen  in  Christ  Jesus. 
Surely  here  is  ground  for  hope. 

Oh !    reader,  if  you  are  a  believer,  these 


things  are  a  strong  foundation.  If  God  be  for 
you,  who  shall  be  against  you  ?  There  is  no 
condemnation  to  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus. 
Nothing  shall  ever  separate  them  from  the  love 
of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 

Come  now,  and  let  me  tell  you  what  I  want 
you  and  every  true  Christian  to  aim  at.  I 
want  you  to  seek  more  hope.  I  want  you  not 
to  rest  satisfied  with  tb-it  little  mite  of  confi- 
dence which  forms  tiie  whole  stock  of  many 
of  God's  children.  I  want  you  to  seek  the 
ful  1  assurance  oi  hope, — that  lively  hope  which 
makes  a  man  never  asharned. 

I  speak  as  a  fellow  traveller  in  the  narrow 
way.  I  speak  as  one  who  desires  that  his  own 
hope  may  grow  and  increase  every  year  that 
he  lives,  and  wishes  the  hope  of  all  his  brethren, 
to  grow  too.  I  know  and  am  persuaded  that 
I  write  things  which  are  for  your  peace.  As 
ever  you  would  have  a  few  days  of  darkness, 
• — as  ever  you  would  feel  God's  face  smiling 
on  your  soul, — as  ever  you  would  have  joy 
and  peace  in  believing, — by  all  your  recollec- 
tions of  past  short-comings, — by  all  your  de- 


sires  of  comfort  in  time  to  come, — I  charge 
you,  I  exhort  you,  I  beseech  you,  to  seek  the 
full  assurance  of  hope. 

Ah  I  reader,  if  you  are  a  true  believer,  you 
know  well  that  we  need  these  mutual  exhor- 
tations. Yoa  and  I  are  but  children  in  the 
Lord's  service  ai  our  very  best.  Our  souls  are 
ever  ready  to  cleave  to  the  dust.  There  is 
room  for  improvement  iti  us  every  day.  Listen 
then  while  I  tell  you  a  few  things  which  we 
must  never  forget,  if  we  would  enjoy  more 
hope, — which  we  must  never  lose  sight  of,  if 
we  would  keep  it  when  we  have  got  it. 

If  we  want  to  grow  in  grace,  and  have  more 
hope,  we  tnust  seek  more  knowledge  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  How  little  do  we  know  of  Him  ! 
Our  cold  affections  towards  Him  are  a  witness 
against  ourselves.  Our  eyes  can  never  be  open 
to  what  He  is  and  does  for  us,  or  we  should 
love  Him  more.  There  are  some  Christians 
whose  minds  seem  ever  running  on  the  doc- 
trine of  sanctification,  to  the  exclusion  of 
everything  else.  They  can  argue  warmly 
about  little  points  of  practice ;  yet  they  are 


r 


WHERE   ART   THOU 


2" 


31 


—  -r 


cold  about  Christ.  They  live  by  rule,  they 
walk  strictly,  they  do  many  things,  they  fancy 
in  a  short  time  they  shall  be  very  strong. 
But  all  this  time  they  lose  sight  of  this  grand 
truth, — that  nothing  is  so  sanctifying  as  knowl- 
edge of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  communion  with 
Him.  "  Abide  in  me,"  He  says  Himself, 
"  and  I  in  you.  As  the  branch  cannot  bear 
fruit,  except  it  abide  in  the  vine ;  no  more 
can  ye,  except  ye  abide  in  me."  Christ  must 
be  the  spring  of  our  holiness,  as  well  as  the 
rock  of  our  faith.  Christ  must  be  all  in  all. 
I  doubt  not  He  is  precious  to  you  that  believe. 
Precious  He  ought  to  be,  because  of  His  offices, 
and  precious  because  of  His  work.  Precious 
He  ought  to  be,  for  what  He  has  done  already  ; 
— He  has  called  us,  quickened  us,  washed  us, 
justified  us.  Precious  He  ought  to  be  for  what 
He  is  doing  even  now  ; — strengthening  us,  in- 
terceding for  us,  sympathizing  with  us.  Pre- 
cious He  ought  to  be  for  what  He  will  do  yet ; 
— He  will  keep  us  to  the  end,  raise  us,  gather 
us  at  His  coming,  present  us  faultless  before 
God's  throne,  give  us  rest  with  Him  in  His 


kingdom.  But  oh  !  reader,  Christ  ought  to  be 
far  more  precious  to  us  than  He  ever  has  been 
yet.  I  take  you  to  record,  if  it  were  the  last 
word  of  my  life,  I  believe  that  nothing  but 
the  knowledge  of  Christ  will  ever  feed  a  man's 
spirit.  All  our  darkness  arises  from  not  keep- 
ing close  to  Him.  The  forms  of  religion  are 
valuable  as  helps, — and  public  ordinances  are 
profitable  to  strengthen  us ; — but  it  must  be 
Christ  crucified  for  sinners, — Christ  seen  with 
the  eye  of  faith, — Christ  present  in  the  heart, 
—Christ  as  the  bread  of  life,  and  Christ  as  the 
water  of  life, — this  must  be  the  doctrine  we 
must  ever  cling  to.  Nothing  else  will  either 
save,  satisfy,  or  sanctify  a  sinful  soul.  We  all 
need  more  knowledge  of  Christ.  If  we  would 
grow  in  grace  and  hope,  let  us  begin  here. 

If  we  want  to  grow  in  grace,  and  have  more 
hope,  we  must  seek  more  knowledge  of  our  own 
hearts.  We  fancy  we  are  acquainted  with 
them,  and  we  are  not.  The  half  of  the  sin 
that  is  in  them  has  hitherto  been  hidden  from 
our  eyes.  We  have  not  the  slightest  idea  how 
much  they  might  deceive  us  if  tried,  and  into 


what  depths  of  Satan  the  very  best  of  us 
might  fall.  But  we  all  know  by  bitter  ex- 
perience, that  by  trusting  our  hearts  we  have 
often  made  sad  mistakes.  We  have  sometimes 
committed  such  errors  that  we  have  lost  sight 
of  our  hope,  and  been  ready  to  believe  we 
had  no  grace  at  all.  Oh!  if  we  would  be 
happy  Christians,  let  us  cease  to  put  confi- 
dence in  our  hearts.  Let  us  learn  to  expect 
nothing  from  them  but  weakness  and  feeble- 
ness. Let  us  cease  to  look  to  frames  and  feel- 
ings for  our  comforts.  Hope  built  on  any- 
thing within  us  must  always  be  wavering  and 
unstable. 

If  we  want  to  grow  in  grace,  and  have  more 
hope,  we  must  seek  more  holiness  in  life  and  con- 
versation. This  is  a  humbling  lesson  to  dwell 
upon,  but  one  that  cannot  be  dwelt  upon  too 
much.  There  is  an  inseparable  connection  be- 
tween-a  close  walk  with  God  and  comfort  in 
our  religion.  Let  this  never  be  forgotten. 
Truly  the  vessels  in  the  Lord's  house  are 
many  of  them  very  dull  and  dingy.  When  I 
look    around    I    see    many    things    missing 

3 


34:  "where  akt  thou?" 

amongst  us,  which  Jesus  loves.  I  miss  the 
meekness  and  gentleness  of  our  Master :  many 
of  us  are  harsh,  rough-tempered,  and  censo- 
rious, and  we  flatter  ourselves  that  we  are 
faithful. — I  miss  real  boldness  in  confessing 
Christ  before  men :  we  often  think  much  more 
of  the  time  to  be  silent  than  the  time  to  speak. 
— I  miss  real  humility :  not  many  of  us  like 
to  take  the  lowest  place,  and  esteem  every  one 
better  than  ourselves,  and  our  own  strength 
perfect  weakness. — I  miss  real  chaiity :  few 
of  us  have  that  unselfish  spirit  which  seeketh 
not  its  own :  there  are  few  who  are  not  more 
taken  up  with  their  own  feelings  and  their 
ov/n  happiness  than  that  of  others. — I  miss 
real  thankfulness  of  spirit :  we  complain,  and 
murmur,  and  fret,  and  brood  over  the  things 
we  have  not,  and  forget  the  things  we  have. 
We  are  seldom  content ;  there  is  generally  a 
Mordecai  at  our  gate. — I  miss  decided  separa- 
tion from  the  world :  the  line  of  distinction  is 
often  rubbed  out.  Many  of  us,  like  the 
chameleon,  are  always  taking  the  color  of  our 
company  ;  we  become  so  like  the  ungodly  that 


it  strains  a  man's  eyes  to  see  tlie  difference. 
Reader,  these  things  ought  not  so  to  be.  If 
we  want  more  hope,  let  us  be  more  zealous  of 
good  works. 

If  we  want  to  grow  in  grace,  and  have  a 
more  lively  hope,  we  must  seek  more  watcliful- 
ness  in  seasons  of  prosperity.  I  know  no  time 
in  a  believer's  life  when  his  soul  is  in  such  real 
danger  as  it  is  when  all  things  go  well  with 
him.  I  know  no  time  when  a  believer  is  so 
likely  to  contract  spiritual  diseases  and  lay  the 
foundation  of  many  days  of  darkness  and 
doubt  in  his  inward  man.  You  and  I  like  the 
course  of  our  life  to  run  smoothly,  and  it  is 
natural  to  flesh  and  blood  to  do  so.  But  you 
and  I  have  little  idea  how  perilous  this  smooth 
course  is  to  our  religion.  The  seeds  of  sick- 
ness are  generally  sown  in  health.  It  is  the 
holiday  time  when  lessons  are  forgotten.  It 
is  the  sweet  things  which  do  harm  to  the  chil- 
dren and  not  the  bitter.  It  is  the  world's  favor 
which  injures  believers  far  more  than  the 
world's  frown.  David  committed  no  adultery 
w^hile  fleeing  before  the  face  of  Saul : — it  was 


when  Saul  was  dead  and  he  was  king  in  his 
stead,  and  there  was  peace  in  Israel.  Christian 
in  "Pilgrim's  Progress"  did  not  lose  his  evidence 
while  he  was  fighting  with  Apolljon  : — it  was 
when  he  was  sleeping  in  a  pleasant  arbor,  and 
no  enemy  seemed  near.  Oh !  if  we  would 
have  a  lively  hope,  let  us  watch  in  the  days 
of  prosperity,  and  be  sober. 

If  we  want  to  grow  in  grace,  and  have  a 
lively  hope,  we  must  seek  more  faith  and  con- 
tentment  in  time  of  trial  Trial  often  makes  a 
righteous  man  speak  unadvisedly  with  his  lips, 
and  say  and  do  things  which  rise  like  mist  be- 
tween his  soul  and  Christ.  Trial  is  a  fire 
which  often  brings  much  dross  to  the  surface 
of  a  believer's  heart,  and  makes  him  say, 
''  God  has  forgotten  me,  there  is  no  hope  for 
my  soul ;  I  am  cast  out  of  the  Lord's  sight ;  I 
do  well  to  complain."  Yet  trial  is  the  hand 
of  a  Father  chastening  us  for  our  profit,  how- 
ever slow  we  may  be  to  believe  it.  The  rod 
is  often  sent  in  answer  to  a  prayer  for  sanctifi- 
cation : — it  is  one  of  God's  ways  of  carrying 
on  that  work  of  sanctification  which  we  pro- 


"WHEEE   ART   THOU?*'  37 

fess  to  desire.  Jacob,  and  Joseph,  and  Moses, 
and  David,  all  found  this.  Blessed  are  they 
who  take  patiently  the  Lord's  medicines — who 
bear  the  cross  in  silence,  and  say,  "It  is  well." 
Afflictions  well  borne  are  spiritual  promotions. 
Patience  having  a  perfect  work  in  the  time  of 
affliction,  will  sooner  or  later  yield  a  precious 
harvest  of  inward  hope. 

If  we  would  grow  in  grace,  and  have  a  more 
lively  hope,  we  must  seek  more  preparedness 
for  Christ^ s  second  coming.  I  know  no  doctrine 
more  sanctifying  and  quickening  than  the  doc- 
trine of  Christ's  second  advent.  I  know  none 
more  calculated  to  draw  us  from  the  world, 
and  make  us  single-eyed,  whole-hearted,  and 
joyful  Christian.  But  alas  !  how  few  believ- 
ers live  like  men  who  wait  for  their  Master's 
return !  Who  that  narrowly  observes  the 
ways  of  many  believers  would  ever  think  that 
they  loved  and  longed  for  their  Lord's  appear- 
ing? Is  it  not  true  that  there  are  many  hearts 
among  God's  children  which  are  not  quite 
ready  to  receive  Jesus?  He  would  find  the 
window  barred, — the  door  shut, — the  fires  al- 


38  "where  art  thou?" 

most  out; — it  would  be  a  cold  and  comfortless 
reception.  Oh !  believing  reader,  it  ought  not 
so  to  be.  We  want  more  of  a  pilgrim's  spirit : 
— we  ought  to  be  ever  looking  for  and  hasten- 
ing to  our  home.  The  day  of  the  Lord's  ad- 
vent is  the  day  of  rest,  the  day  of  complete 
redemption,  the  day  when  the  family  of  God 
shall  at  last  be  all  gathered  together.  It  is  the 
day  when  we  shall  no  longer  walk  by  faith, 
but  by  sight : — we  shall  see  the  land  that  is 
far  off, — we  shall  behold  the  King  in  His 
beauty.  Surely  we  ought  to  be  saying  daily, 
"Come,  Lord  Jesus,  let  thy  kingdom  come." 
Oh !  let  us  set  Christ's  advent  continually  be- 
fore our  eyes.  Let  us  say  to  ourselves  every 
morning,  "  The  Lord  will  soon  return,"  and  it 
will  be  good  for  our  souls. 

Lastly,  if  we  want  to  grow  in  grace  and 
have  more  hope,  we  must  seek  more  diligence 
about  means  of  grace.  It  is  vain  to  suppose 
that  our  hope  is  not  dependent  in  any  sense 
on  the  pains  we  take  in  the  use  of  God's  ap- 
pointed ordinances.  It  is  dependent,  and  that 
to  a  very  great  extent.     God  has  wisely  or- 


"  WHEEE   AET   THOU  ?"  39 

dered  it  so  tliat  lazy  Christians  seldom  enjoy 
any  assurance  of  their  own  acceptance.  He 
tells  us  that  we  must  labor,  and  strive,  and 
work,  to  make  our  calling  and  election  sure. 
Oh  !  that  believers  would  remember  this,  and 
lay  it  to  heart.  I  suspect  that  many  of  God's 
people  are  very  lazy  in  their  manner  of  using 
means.  They  know  little  of  David's  spirit 
when  he  said,  "My  soul  longeth  and  fainteth 
for  the  courts  of  the  house  of  my  God."  I 
doubt  whether  there  is  much  private  prayer 
before  and  after  sermons.  Yet,  remember, 
hearing  alone  is  not  everything :  when  all  is 
said  in  the  pulpit,  only  half  the  work  is  done. 
I  doubt  whether  the  Bible  is  as  much  read  as 
it  shouM  be.  Nothing  in  my  own  short  expe- 
rience has  surprised  me  so  much  as  the  con- 
tented ignorance  of  Scripture  which  prevails 
among  believers.  I  doubt  whether  private 
prayer  is  as  often  made  a  business  of  as  it 
should  be.  We  are  often  satisfied  to  get  up 
from  our  knees  without  having  really  seen  or 
heard  anything  of  God  and  His  Christ.     And 


40  "WHEKE    ART   THOU?" 

,  all  this  is  wrong. — It  is  the  diligent  soul  that 
enjoys  lively  hope. 

Eeader,  let  us  lay  to  heart  the  things  that  I 
have  mentioned.  Let  us  resolve,  by  God's 
help,  to  set  them  before  us  continually,  to 
pray  for  them,  strive  after  them,  and  endea- 
vor to  attain  them. 

This  is  the  way  to  be  useful  Christians.  The 
world  knows  little  of  Christ  beyond  what  it 
sees  of  Him  in  His  people.  Oh !  what  plain, 
clearly- written  epistles  they  ought  to  be  !  A 
hopeful  growing  believer  is  a  walking  sermon. 
He  preaches  far  more  than  I  do,  for  he  preaches 
all  the  week  round,  shaming  the  unconverted, 
sharpening  the  converted,  showing  to  all  what 
grace  can  do.  Such  an  one  does  good  indeed 
by  his  life,  and  after  death  what  great  broad 
evidences  he  leaves  behind  him!  We  carry 
him  to  the  grave  without  one  unpleasant 
doubt !  Oh  !  the  value  and  the  power  of  a 
growing  Christian  !  The  Lord  make  you  and 
me  such. 

This  is  the  way  to  be  happy  Christians. 
Happiness  is  the  gift  of  God,  but  that  there 


"where  aet  thou?"  41 

is  the  closest  connection  between  full  follow- 
ing of  God  and  full  happiness,  let  no  man  for 
an  instant  doubt.  A  hopeful,  growing  be-, 
liever  has  the  witness  within  himself.  He 
walks  in  the  full  light  of  the  sun,  and  there- 
fore he  generally  feels  bright  and  warm.  He 
does  not  quench  the  Spirit  by  continual  incon- 
sistencies, and  so  the  fire  within  him  seldom 
burns  low.  He  has  great  peace  because  he 
really  loves  God's  law,  and  all  that  see  him 
are  obliged  to  allow  that  it  is  a  privilege  and 
not  a  bondage  to  be  a  Christian.  Oh  I  the 
comfort  of  a  tender  conscience,  a  godly  jeal- 
ousy, a  close  walk  with  God,  a  heavenly  frame 
of  mind  I  The  Lord  make  us  all  of  such  a  spirit. 
And  now,  dear  readers  of  every  class  to 
whom  I  have  spoken,  I  heartily  pray  God  to 
bless  these  pages  to  your  souls.  Whether  you 
are  of  those  for  whom  /  /ear, — whether  you 
are  of  those  about  whom  /  douht^ — whether 
you  are  of  those  whom  /  look  at  with  hope^  my 
heart's  desire  and  prayer  is,  that  you  may  lay 
down  this  tract  a  wiser  and  better  man  than 
when  you  took  it  up. 


42  "where  art  thou?" 

"VVe  live  in  strange  times.  The  world  seems 
getting  old  and  shaking.  The  shadows  are 
long  drawn.  The  evening  appears  to  be  com- 
ing on.  The  night  will  soon  be  upon  us,  when 
no  man  can  work.  Oh. !  tbat  every  reader  of 
this  tract  would  turn  in  upon  himself  while  it 
is  called  to-day,  and  consider  his  own  ways. 
Oh !  that  each  would  ask  himself  the  question, 
Where  am  I?  What  am  I?  Where  am  I 
going  ?  What  will  be  the  end  of  my  present 
course  ?     What  is  the  hope  of  my  soul  ? 

Reader,  once  more  I  ask  you  not  to  despise 
my  question.  Think  of  it :  consider  it :  pray 
over  it.  Oh !  that  it  may  take  firm  hold  of 
your  heart,  and  never  leave  you  !  Oh !  that 
it  may  be  to  your  soul  as  life  from  the  dead  ! 
Time  is  fast  ebbing  away.  Life  is  a  vast  un- 
certainty. Death  is  drawing  nearer  and  near- 
er. Judgment  is  sure  to  come.  Header,,  where 
art  thou?  Where  art  thou  in  the  sight  of 
God? 

I  remain. 

Your  affectionate  Friend, 
J.  C.  Ryle. 


"As  many  as  are  led  "by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the 

eons  of  God. 
"  For  ye  have  not  received  the  spirit  of  bondage  again 

to  fear  ;  hut  ye  have  received  the  spirit  of  adoption, 

whereby  "we  cry  Abba,  Father. 
"The  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit  that 

we  are  the  children  of  God: 
"  And  if  children,  then  heirs  ;  heirs  of  God,  and  joint 

heirs  with  Christ  ;  if  so  be  that  we  suffer  with  him, 

that  we  may  be  also  glorified  together."     (Rom.  viii. 

14—17. 

Eeader, 

As  soon  as  you  have  read  the  verses  of 
Scripture  before  your  eyes,  I  invite  you  to 
consider  a  very  solemn  question, — Are  you  an 
heir  of  glory  ? 

Mark  well  what  I  am  asking.  I  am  not 
speaking  of  matters  which  only  concern  the 
rich,  the  great,  and  the  noble.  I  do  not  ask 
whether  you  are  an  heir  to  money  or  lands. 
I  only  want  to  ask,  whether  you  are  an  heir 
of  glory  ? 


The  inheritance  I  speak  of  is  the  only  in- 
heritance reallg  worth  having.  All  others  are 
■unsatisfying  and  disappointing.  They  bring 
with  them  many  cares.  They  cannot  cure  an 
aching  heart.  They  cannot  lighten  a  heavy 
conscience.  They  cannot  keep  off  family 
troubles.  They  cannot  prevent  sicknesses, 
bereavements,  separations,  and  deaths.  But 
there  is  no  disappointment  among  the  heirs 
of  glory. 

The  inheritance  I  speak  of  is  the  only  in- 
heritance which  can  he  hej)t  forever.  All  oth- 
ers must  be  left  in  the  hour  of  death,  if  they 
have  not  been  taken  away  before.  The  own- 
ers of  millions  of  pounds  can  carry  nothing 
with  them  beyond  the  grave.  But  it  is  not  so 
with  the  heirs  of  glory.  Their  inheritance  is 
eternal. 

The  inheritance  I  speak  of  is  the  only  in- 
heritance which  is  within  every  hodifs  reach. 
Most  men  can  never  obtain  riches  and  great- 
ness, though  they  labor  hard  for  them  all  their 
lives.  But  glory,  honor,  and  eternal  life,  are 
oJBfered  to  every  man  freely,  who  is  willing  to 


accept  them  on  God's  terms.     "  Whosoever 
will,"  may  be  an  heir  of  glory. 

Keader,  if  you  wish  to  have  a  portion  of 
this  inheritance,  you  must  be  a  member  of 
that  one  family  on  earth  to  which  it  belongs, 
and  that  is  the  family  of  all  true  Christians. 
You  must  become  one  of  God's  children  on 
earth,  if  you  desire  to  have  glory  in  heaven. 
I  write  to  persuade  you  to  become  a  child  of 
God  this  day,  if  you  are  not  one  already.  I 
write  to  persuade  you  to  make  it  sure  work 
that  you  are  one,  if  at  present  you  have  only 
a  vague  hope,  and  nothing  more.  None  but 
true  Christians  are  the  children  of  God.  IN'one 
but  the  children  of  God  are  heirs  of  glory. 
Give  me  your  attention,  while  I  try  to  unfold 
to  you  these  things,  and  to  show  you  the  les- 
sons which  the  verses  you  have  already  read 
contain. 

I.  Let  me  show  you  the  relation  of  all  true 
Christians  to  God.     They  are  ^'  sons  of  God  J'' 

II.  Let  me  show  you  the  special  evidences  of 
this  relation.  True  Christians  are  "Zee?  hy  the 
Spirit^     They  have  "  the  Spirit  of  adoption^ 


They  have  the  "  witness  of  the  Spirit:''  They 
'•''suffer  luith  Chesty 

III.  Let  me  show  you  the  privileges  of  this 
relation.  True  Christians  are  '■''heirs  of  God^ 
joint  heirs  with  Christ^ 

I.  First  let  me  show  you  the  true  relation  of 
all  true  Christians  to  God.  They  are  God's 
"  Sons." 

I  know  no  higher  and  more  comfortable 
word  that  could  have  been  chosen.  To  be 
servants  of  God, — to  be  subjects,  soldiers,  dis- 
ciples, friends, — all  these  are  excellent  titles. 
But  to  be  the  sons  of  God,  is  a  step  higher 
still.  What  says  the  Scripture?  "  The  ser- 
vant abideth  not  in  the  house  forever,  but  the 
Son  abideth  ever."  (John,  viii.  85.) 

To  be  son  of  the  rich  and  noble  in  this 
world, — to  be  son  of  the  princes  and  kings  of 
the  earth, — this  is  reckoned  a  privilege.  But 
to  be  a  son  of  the  King  of  kings,  and  Lord 
of  lords, — to  be  a  son  of  the  High  and  Holy 
One,  who  inhabiteth  eternity, — this  is  some- 
thing higher  still.  And  yet  this  is  the  portion 
of  every  true  Christian. 


The  son  of  an  earthly  parent  looks  natur- 
ally to  his  father  for  affection,  maintenance, 
provision,  and  education.  There  is  a  home 
always  open  to  him.  There  is  a  love  which 
no  bad  conduct  can  completely  extinguish. 
All  these  are  things  belonging  even  to  the  son- 
ship  of  this  world.  Think  then  how  great  is 
the  privilege  of  that  poor  sinner  of  mankind, 
who  can  say  of  God,  "He  is  my  Father." 

But  HOW  can  sinful  men  like  you  and  me 
become  sons  of  God?  When  do  they  enter 
into  this  glorious  relationship  ?  We  are  not 
the  sons  of  God  by  nature.  We  are  not  born 
so  when  we  come  into  the  world.  No  man 
has  a  natural  right  to  look  to  God  as  his  Fa- 
ther. It  is  a  vile  heresy  to  say  that  he  has. 
Men  are  said  to  be  born  poets  and  painters, — 
but  men  are  never  born  sons  of  God.  The 
epistle  to  the  Ephesians  tells  us,  "  ye  luere  hy 
nature  children  of  lorath  even  as  others."  (Ephes. 
ii.  3.)  The  Epistle  of  St.  John  says,  ''the 
children  of  God  are  manifest^  and  the  children  of 
the  devil :  whosoever  doeth  not  righteoitsness  is  not 
of  God."    (1  John,  iii.  10.)    The  Catechism  of 


48  "are  you  an  heir?" 

the  Church  of  England  wisely  follows  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Bible,  and  teaches  us  to  say,  "  By 
nature  born  in  sin,  and  children  of  wrath." 
Yes !  we  are  all  rather  children  of  the  devil, 
than  children  of  God.  Sin  is  indeed  heredi- 
tary, and  runs  in  the  family  of  Adam.  Grace 
is  anything  but  hereditary,  and  holy  men  have 
not,  as  a  matter  of  course,  holy  sins.  How 
then  and  when  does  this  mighty  change  and 
translation  come  upon  men  ?  When  and  in 
what  manner  do  sinners  become  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  Lord  Almighty  ? 

Men  become  sons  of  God  in  the  day  that 
the  Spirit  leads  them  to  believe  on  Jesus 
Christ  for  salvation,  and  not  before.*  What 
says  the  epistle  to  the  Galatians  ?  "  Ye  are  all 
the  children  of  God  hy  faith  in  Christ  Jesus y 
(Gal.  iii.  36.)  What  says  the  epistle  to  the 
Corinthians?  "  Of  him  are  ye  in  Jesiis  Christ^ 
(1  Cor.  i.  30.)  What  says  the  Gospel  of  John  ? 
"  As  many  as  received  Christy  to  them  gave  lie 

*  The  reader  will  of  course  understand  that  I  am  not 
speaking  now  of  children  that  die  in  infancy,  or  of  persons 
who  live  and  die  idiots. 


__ 


"aee  you  an  HEm?"  49 

power  (or  privilege)  to  become  the  sons  of  God 
even  to  them  that  believe  on  his  name!'''  (John,  i. 
12).  Faith  unites  the  sinner  to  the  Son  of 
God,  and  makes  him  one  of  his  members. 
Faith  makes  him  one  of  those  in  whom  the 
Father  sees  no  spot,  and  is  well-pleased.  Faith 
marries  him  to  the  beloved  Son  of  God,  and 
entitles  him  to  be  reckoned  among  the  sons. 
Faith  gives  him  fellowship  with  the  Father 
and  the  Son.  Faith  grafts  him  into  the  Fa- 
ther's family,  and  opens  np  to  him  a  room  in 
the  Father's  house.  Faith  gives  him  life  in- 
stead of  death,  and  makes  him  instead  of  be- 
ing a  servant  a  son.  Show  me  a  man  that  has 
this  faith,  and  whatever  be  his  church,  or  de- 
nomination, I  say  that  he  is  a  son  of  God. 

Keader,  this  is  one  of  those  points  you 
should  never  forget.  You  and  I  know  no- 
thing of  a  man's  sonship  until  he  believes.  No 
doubt  the  sons  of  God  are  foreknown  and 
chosen  from  all  eternity,  and  predestined  to 
adoption.  But,  remember,  it  is  not  till  they 
are  called  in  due  time,  and  believe, — it  is  not 

till  then  that  you  and  I  can  be  certain  they 

> 
4 


are  sons.  It  is  not  till  they  repent  and  believe, 
that  the  angels  of  God  rejoice  over  them. 
The  angels  cannot  read  the  book  of  Grod's 
election.  They  know  not  who  are  His  hidden 
ones  in  the  earth.  They  rejoice  over  no  man 
till  he  believes.  But  when  they  see  some 
poor  sinner  repenting  and  believing,  then 
there  is  joy  among  them, — joy  that  one  more 
brand  is  plucked  from  the  burning,  and  one 
more  son  and  heir  born  again  to  the  Father  in 
heaven.  But  once  more  I  say,  you  and  I 
know  nothing  certain  about  a  man's  sonship 
to  God  until  he  believes  on  Christ 

Keader,  I  warn  you  to  beware  of  the  delu- 
sive notion,  that  all  men  and  women  are  alike 
children  of  God,  whether  they  have  faith  in 
Christ  or  not.  It  is  a  wild  theory  which  many 
are  clinging  to  in  these  days,  but  one  which 
cannot  be  proved  out  of  the  word  of  God.  It 
is  a  perilous  dream,  with  which  many  are  try- 
ing to  soothe  themselves,  but  one  from  which 
there  will  be  a  fearful  waking  up  at  the  last 
day. 

That  God  in  a  certain  sense  is  the  universal 


"aee  yoij  an  heie?"  51 


Father  of  all  mankind,  I  do  not  pretend  to 
deny.  He  is  the  Great  First  Cause  of  all 
things.  He  is  the  Creator  of  all  mankind, 
and  in  Him  alone,  all  men,  whether  Christians 
or  heathens,  live  and  move  and  have  their  be- 
ing. All  this  is  unquestionably  true.  In  this 
sense  Paul  told  the  Athenians,  a  poet  of  their 
own  had  truly  said,  '^  ive  are  his  offspring y 
(Acts,  xvii.  28.)  But  this  sonship  gives  no  man 
a  title  to  heaven.  The  sonship  which  we  have 
by  creation,  is  one  which  belongs  to  stones, 
trees,  beasts,  or  even  to  the  devils,  as  much  as 
to  us. 

That  God  loves  all  mankind  with  a  love  of 
pity  and  compassion,  I  do  not  deny.  His  ten- 
der mercies  are  over  all  His  works.  He  is  not 
willing  that  any  should  perish,  but  that  all 
should  come  to  repentance.  He  has  no  pleas- 
ure in.  the  death  of  him  that  dieth.  All  this 
I  admit  to  the  full.  In  this  sense  our  Lord 
Jesus  tells  us,  "  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he 
gave  his  only  begotten  jSon,  that  whosoever  helieveth 
in  him  should  not  perish,  hut  have  eternal  life^ 
(John,  iii.  16.) 


— 1 


52  "are  you  an  heie?" 

But  that  God  is  a  reconciled  and  pardoning 
Father  to  any  but  the  members  of  His  Son 
Jesus  Christ,  and  that  any  are  members  of  Je- 
sus Christ  who  do  not  believe  on  Him  for  sal- 
vation,— this  is  a  doctrine  which  I  utterly 
deny.  The  holiness  and  justice  of  God  are 
both  against  the  doctrine.  They  make  it  im- 
possible for  sinful  men  to  approach  God,  ex- 
cepting through  a  mediator.  They  tell  us  that 
God  out  of  Christ  is  a  consuming  fire.  The 
whole  system  of  the  New  Testament  is  against 
the  doctrine.  That  system  teaches  that  no 
man  can  claim  interest  in  Christ,  unless  he  will 
receive  Him  as  his  Mediator,  and  believe  on 
Him  as  his  Saviour.  Where  there  is  no  faith 
in  Christ,  it  is  drivelling  folly  to  say  that  a 
man  may  take  comfort  in  God  as  his  Father. 
God  is  a  reconciled  Father  to  none  but  the 
members  of  Christ. 

It  is  nonsense  to  talk  of  the  view  I  am  now 
■upholding  as  narrow-minded  and  harsh.  The 
Gospel  sets  an  open  door  before  every  man. 
Its  promises  are  wide  and  full.  Its  invitations 
are  earnest  and  tender.     Its  requirements  are 


"are  you  an  heir  I"  63 

simple  and  clear.     ''  Only  believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and,  whosoever  thon  art,  thou     j 
shalt  be  saved."     But  to  say  that  proud  men,      | 
who  will  not  bow  their  necks  to  the  easy  yoke     j 
of  Christ,  and  worldly  men  who  are   deter-     j 
mined  to  have  their  own  way  and  their  sins, — to     j 
say  that  such  men  have  a  right  to  claim  an  in-     j 
terest  in  Christ,  and  a  right  to  call  themselves     | 
sons  of  God,  is  absurdity  indeed.     God  offers     | 
to  be  their  Father ;  but  He  does  it  on  certain 
distinct  terms : — they  must  draw  near  to  Him     j 
through   Christ.      Christ   offers    to  be   their 
Saviour  ;  but  in  doing  it  He  make  one  simple     j 
requirement : — they  must  commit  their  souls     | 
to  Him,  and  give  Him  their  hearts.     They  re-     j 
fuse  the  terms,  and  yet  dare  to  call  God  their     j 
Father  I     They  scorn  the  requirement,  and  yet     I 
dare  to  hope  that  Christ  will  save  them  !     God 
is  to  be  their  Father, — but  on  their  own  terms !      | 
Christ  is  to  be  their  Saviour, — but  on  their 
own  conditions  !    What  can  be  more  unreason- 
able ?     What  can  be  more  proud  ?     What  can 
be  more  unholy,  than  such  a  doctrine  as  this? 
Beware  of  it,  reader,  for  it  is  a  common  doc- 


54  "are  you  an  heie?" 

I 

I      — — — 

I  trine  in  these  latter  days.  Beware  of  it,  for  it 
j  is  often  speciously  put  forward,  and  sounds 
j  beautiful  and  charitable  in  the  mouth  of  poets, 
j  novelists,  sentimentalists,  and  tender-hearted 
I  women.  Beware  of  it,  unless  you  mean  to 
j  throw  aside  your  Bible  altogether,  and  set  up 
i  yourself  to  be  wiser  than  God.  Stand  fast  on 
the  old  Scriptural  ground. — No  sonship  to  Ood 
j  without  Christ  /  No  interest  in  Christ  withoutfaith  ! 
I  I  would  to  God  there  was  not  so  much  cause 
I  for  giving  warnings  of  this  kind.  I  have  rea- 
son to  think  they  need  to  be  given  clearly  and 
unmistakeably.  There  is  a  school  of  theology 
rising  up  in  this  day,  which  appears  to  me 
most  eminently  calculated  to  promote  infidel- 
ity, to  help  the  devil,  and  to  ruin  souls.  It 
comes  to  us  like  Joab  to  Amasa,  with  the 
highest  professions  of  charity,  liberality,  and 
love.  God  is  all  mercy  and  love,  according  to 
this  theology: — His  holiness  and  justice  are 
completely  left  out  of  sight !  Hell  is  never 
spoken  of  in  this  theology : — its  talk  is  all 
of  heaven  !  Damnation  is  never  mentioned  : 
' — ^it  is  treated  as  an  impossible  thing: — all 


men  and  women  are  to  be  saved !  Faith, 
and  the  work  of  the  Spirit,  are  refined  away 
into  nothing  at  all !  Everybody  who  believes 
anything  has  faith  I  Everybody  who  thinks 
anything  has  the  Spirit !  Everybody  is  right ! 
Kobody  is  wrong  I  Kobody  is  to  blame  for 
any  action  he  may  commit  I  It  is  the  result 
of  his  position!  It  is  the  effect  of  circum- 
stances I  He  is  not  accountable  for  his  opinions, 
any  more  than  for  the  color  of  his  skin  !  He 
must  be  what  he  is !  The  Bible  of  course  is  a 
very  imperfect  book  !  It  is  old-fashioned  !  It 
is  obsolete  !  We  may  believe  just  as  much  of 
it  as  we  please,  and  no  more  !  Keader,  of  all 
this  theology,  I  warn  you  solemnly  to  beware. 
In  spite  of  big  swelling  words  about  "  liberal- 
ity," and  ^'charity,"  and  "broad  views,"  and 
"new  lights,"  and  "freedom  from  bigotry," 
and  so  forth,  I  do  believe  it  to  be  a  theology 
that  leads  to  hell. 

Facts  are  directly  against  the  teachers  of  this 
theology.  Let  them  climb  to  the  tops  of 
mountains,  and  mark  the  traces  of  Noah's  flood. 
Let  them  go  to  the  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea, 


and  look  down  into  its  mysterious  bitter  waters. 
Let  them  observe  the  wandering  Jews,  scatter- 
ed over  the  face  of  the  world.  And  then  let 
them  tell  us,  if  they  dare,  that  God  is  so  en- 
tirely a  God  of  mercy  and  love,  that  he  never 
does  and  never  will  punish  sin. 

The  conscience  of  man  is  directly  against  these 
teachers.  Let  them  go  the  bedside  of  some 
dying  child  of  the  world,  and  try  to  comfort 
him  with  their  doctrines.  Let  them  see  if 
their  vaunted  theories  will  calm  his  gnawing, 
restless  anxiety  about  the  future,  and  enable 
him  to  depart  in  peace.  Let  them  show  us,  if 
they  can,  a  few  well-authenticated  cases  of  joy 
and  happiness  in  death  without  Bible  prom- 
ises,— without  conversion, — and  without  that 
faith  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  which  old-fashion- 
ed theology  enjoins.  Alas  I  when  men  are 
leaving  the  world,  conscience  makes  sad  work 
of  these  new  systems.  Conscience  is  not  easily 
satisfied  in  a  dying  hour  that  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  hell. 

Every  reasonable  conception  that  lue  can  form 
of  a  future  state  is  directly  against  these  teach- 


ers.  Fancy  a  heaven  which  should  contain  all 
mankind!  Fancy  a  heaven  in  which  holy 
and  unholy,  pure  and  impure,  good  and  bad, 
would  be  all  gathered  together  in  one  confused 
mass  !  What  point  of  union  would  there  be 
in  such  a  company  ?  What  common  bond  of 
harmony  and  brotherhood?  What  common 
delight  in  a  common  service  ?  What  concord, 
what  harmony,  what  peace,  what  oneness  of 
spirit  could  exist  ?  Surely  the  mind  revolts 
from  the  idea  of  a  heaven  in  which  there  would 
be  no  distinction  between  the  righteous  and 
the  wicked, — between  Pharaoh  and  Moses,  be- 
tween Abraham  and  the  Sodomites,  between 
Paul  and  ISTero,  between  Peter  and  Judas  Is- 
cariot,  between  the  man  who  dies  in  the  act 
of  murder  or  drunkenness  and  men  like  Bax- 
ter, Wilberforce,  and  M'Cheyne!  Surely  an 
eternity  in  such  a  miserably  confused  crowd 
would  be  worse  than  annihilation  itself!  Sure- 
ly such  a  heaven  would  be  no  better  than 
hell! 

The  interests  of  all  holiness  and  morality  are 
directly  against  these  teachers.     If  all  men  and 


women  alike  are  God's  children,  whatever  is 
the  difference  between  them  in  their  lives, — 
and  all  alike  going  to  heaven,  however  differ- 
ent they  may  be  from  one  another  here  in  the 
world, — where  is  the  use  of  laboring  after 
holiness  at  all?  What  motive  remains  for 
living  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  ?  What 
does  it  matter  how  men  conduct  themselves, 
if  all  go  to  heaven,  and  nobody  goes  to  hell  ? 
Surely  the  very  heathen  of  Greece  and  Eome 
could  tell  us  something  better  and  wiser  than 
this !  Surely  a  doctrine  which  is  subversive 
of  holiness  and  morality,  and  takes  away  all 
motives  to  exertion,  carries  on  the  face  of  it 
the  stamp  of  its  origin.  It  is  of  earth,  and 
not  of  heaven.  It  is  of  the  devil,  and  not  of 
God. 

The  Bible  is  against  these  teachers  all  through. 
Hundreds  and  thousands  of  texts  might  be 
quoted  which  are  diametrically  opposed  to 
their  theories.  These  texts  must  be  rejected 
summarily,  if  the  Bible  is  to  square  with  their 
views.  There  may  be  no  reason  why  they 
sliould  be  rejected, — ^but  to  suit  the  theology 


"aee  you  an  heir?*'  69 

I  speak,  of  they  must  be  thrown  away.  At 
this  rate,  the  authority  of  the  whole  Bible  is 
soon  at  an  end.  And  what  do  they  give  us  in 
its  place  ?  Kothing, — nothing  at  all !  They 
rob  us  of  the  bread  of  life,  and  do  not  give 
us  in  its  stead  so  much  as  a  stone. 

Eeader,  once  more  I  warn  you  to  beware  of 
this  theology.  I  charge  you  to  hold  fast  the 
doctrine  which  I  have  been  endeavoring  to 
uphold  in  this  tract.  Eemember  what  I  have 
said,  and  never  let  it  go.  No  inheritance  of 
glory  without  sonship  to  God !  ISTo  sonship  to 
God  without  an  interest  in  Christ !  No  inter- 
est in  Christ  without  your  own  personal  faith ! 
This  is  God's  truth.     Never  forsake  it. 

Who  now  among  the  readers  of  this  tract, 
desires  to  know  ivheiher  he  is  a  son  of  God  ?  Ask 
yourself  this  day,  and  ask  it  as  in  God's  sight, 
whether  you  have  repented  and  believed.  Ask 
yourself  whether  you  are  experimentally  ac- 
quainted with  Christ,  and  united  to  Him  in 
heart.  If  not,  you  may  be  very  sure  you  are 
no  son  of  God.  You  are  not  yet  born  again. 
You  are  yet  in  your  sins.     Your  Father  in 


creation  God  may  be,  but  your  reconciled  and 
pardoning  Father  God  is  not.  Yes !  though 
church  and  world  may  agree  to  tell  you  to  the 
contrary, — though  clergy  and  laity  unite  in 
flattering  you, — your  sonship  is  worth  little  or 
nothing  in  the  sight  of  God.  Let  God  be  true 
and  every  man  a  liar.  Without  faith  in  Christ 
you  are  no  son  of  God, — you  are  not  born 
again. 

Who  is  there  among  the  readers  of  this  tract 
who  desires  to  became  a  son  of  Ood  f  Let  that 
person  see  his  sin,  and  flee  to  Christ  for  salva- 
tion, and  this  day  he  shall  be  placed  among 
the  children.  Only  acknowledge  thine  in- 
iquity, and  lay  hold  on  the  hand  that  Jesus 
holds  out  to  thee  this  day,  and  sonship,  with 
all  its  privileges,  is  thine  own.  Only  confess 
thy  sins,  and  bring  them  unto  Christ,  and  God 
is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  thee  thy  sins, 
and  cleanse  thee  from  all  unrighteousness. 
This  very  day,  old  things  shall  pass  away  and 
all  things  become  new.  This  very  day,  thou 
shalt  be  forgiven,  pardoned,  accepted  in  the 
beloved.     This  yqyj  day,  thou  shalt  have  a 


"are  yotj  an  heie?"  61 

new  name  given  to  thee  in  heaven.  Thou 
didst  take  np  this  tract  a  child  of  wrath. 
Thou  shalt  lie  down  to-night  a  child  of  God. 
Mark  this,  if  thy  professed  desire  after  sonship 
is  sincere, — if  thou  art  truly  weary  of  thy  sins, 
and  hast  really  something  more  than  a  lazy 
wish  to  be  free, — there  is  real  comfort  for  thee. 
It  is  all  true.  It  is  all  written  in  Scripture, 
even  as  I  have  put  it  down.  I  dare  not  raise 
barriers  between  thee  and  God.  This  day,  I 
say,  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
thou  shalt  be  a  son,  and  be  saved. 

Who  is  there  among  the  readers  of  this  tract 
that  is  a  son  of  God  indeed?  Eejoice,  I  say, 
and  be  exceeding  glad  of  your  privileges. 
Eejoice,  for  you  have  good  cause  to  be  thank- 
ful. Eemember  the  words  of  the  beloved 
apostle  :  ^^  Behold  what  manner  of  love  the  Father 
hath  bestowed  upon  us^  that  we  should  he  called 
the  sons  of  God^  (1  John,  iii.  1.)  How  wonder- 
ful that  heaven  should  look  down  on  earth, — 
that  the  holy  God  should  set  His  affections  on 
sinful  man,  and  admit  him  into  His  family ! 
What  though  the  world  does  not  understand 


G2  "are  you  an  heir?" 

you!  What  though  the  men  of  this  world 
laugh  at  you,  and  cast  out  your  name  as  evil ! 
Let  them  laugh,  if  they  will.  God  is  your 
Father.  You  have  no  need  to  be  ashamed. 
The  Queen  can  create  a  nobleman.  The 
bishops  can  ordain  clergymen.  But  Queen, 
Lords,  and  Commons, — bishops,  priests,  and 
deacons, — all  together,  cannot,  of  their  own 
power,  make  one  son  of  God,  or  one  of  great- 
er dignity  than  a  son  of  God.  The  man  that 
can  call  God  his  Father,  and  Christ  his  elder 
Brother, — that  man  may  be  poor  and  lowly, 
yet  he  never  need  be  ashamed. 

IL  Let  me  show  you,  in  the  second  place, 
the  special  evidences  of  the  true  Christianas  rela- 
tion to  God. 

How  shall  a  man  make  sure  work  of  his 
own  sonship  ?  How  shall  he  find  out  whether 
he  is  one  that  has  come  to  Christ  by  faith  and 
been  born  again  ?  What  are  the  marks,  and 
signs,  and  tokens,  by  which  the  sons  of  God 
may  be  known  ?  This  is  a  question  which  all 
who  love  eternal  life  ought  to  ask.  This  is  a 
question  to  which  the  verses  of  Scripture  I  am 


_j 


asking  you  to  consider,  like  many  others,  sup- 
ply an  answer. 

1.  Tlae  sons  of  God,  for  one  tiling,  are  all 
led  hy  His  Spirit.  What  says  the  Scripture  ? 
"  As  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
they  are  the  sons  of  God."  (Rom.  viii.  14.) 

They  are  all  under  the  leading  and  teaching 
of  a  power  which  is  almighty,  though  unseen, 
— even  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  They 
no  longer  turn  every  man  his  own  way,  and 
walk  every  man  in  the  light  of  his  own  eyes, 
and  follow  every  man  his  own  natural  heart's 
desire.  The  Spirit  leads  them.  The  Spirit 
guides  them.  There  is  a  movement  in  their 
hearts,  lives,  and  affections,  which  they  feel, 
though  they  may  not  be  able  to  explain,  and 
a  movement  which  is  always  more  or  less  in 
the  same  direction. 

They  are  led  away  from  sin, — away  from 
self-  righteousness,  —  away  from  the  world. 
This  is  the  road  by  which  the  Spirit  leads 
God's  children.  Those  whom  God  adopts  He 
teaches  and  trains.  He  shows  to  them  their 
own  hearts.     He  makes  them  weary  of  their 


64:  "are  you  an  heir?" 

own  ways.     He  makes  them  long  for  inward 
peace. 

They  are  led  to  Christ.  They  are  led  to  the 
Bible.  They  are  led  to  prayer.  They  are  led 
to  holiness.  This  is  the  beaten  path  along 
which  the  Spirit  makes  them  to  travel.  Those 
whom  God  adopts  He  always  sanctifies.  He 
makes  sin  very  bitter  to  them.  He  makes 
holiness  very  sweet. 

It  is  the  Spirit  who  leads  them  to  Sinai,  and 
first  shows  them  the  law,  that  their  hearts  may 
be  broken.  It  is  He  who  leads  them  to  Cal- 
vary, and  shows  them  the  cross,  that  their 
hearts  may  be  bound  up  and  healed.  It  is  He 
who  leads  them  to  Pisgah,  and  gives  them  dis- 
tant views  of  the  promised  land,  that  their 
hearts  may  be  cheered.  When  they  are  taken 
into  the  wilderness,  and  taught  to  see  their 
own  emptiness,  it  is  the  leading  of  the  Spirit. 
When  they  are  carried  up  to  Tabor,  and  lifted 
up  with  glimpses  of  the  glory  to  come,  it  is 
the  leading  of  the  Spirit.  Each  and  all  of 
God's  sons  is  the  subject  of  these  leadings. 
Each  and  all  vields  himself  willingly  to  them. 


And  each  and  all  is  lead  by  the  right  way,  to 
bring  him  to  a  city  of  habitation. 

Eeader,  settle  this  down  in  your  heart,  and 
do  not  let  it  go.  The  sons  of  God  are  a  peo- 
ple led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  always  led 
more  or  less  in  the  same  way.  Their  expe- 
rience will  tally  wonderfully  when  they  com- 
pare notes  in  heaven.  This  is  one  mark  of 
sonship. 

2.  Furthermore,  all  the  sons  of  God  have 
the  feelings  of  adopted  children  towards  their  Father 
in  heaven.  What  says  the  Scripture?  "Ye 
have  not  received  the  Spirit  of  bondage  again 
to  fear,  but  ye  have  received  the  Spirit  of 
adoption,  whereby  we  cry  Abba,  Father." 
(Eom.  viii.  15.) 

The  sons  of  God  are  delivered  from  that 
slavish  fear  of  God,  which  sin  begets  in  the 
natural  heart.  They  are  redeemed  from  that 
feeling  of  guilt,  which  made  Adam  hide  him- 
self in  the  trees  of  the  garden,  and  Cain  go 
out  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord.  They  are 
no  longer  afraid  of  God's  holiness,  and  justice, 
and  majesty.     They  no  longer  feel  as  if  there 

5 


66  "are  you  an  heir?" 

was  a  great  gulf  and  barrier  between  them- 
selves and  God, — and  as  if  God  was  angry 
with  them,  and  must  be  angry  with  them,  be- 
cause of  their  sins.  From  these  chains  and 
fetters  of  soul  the  sons  of  God  are  delivered. 

Their  feelings  towards  God  are  now  those  of 
peace  and  confidence.  They  see  Him  as  a 
Father  reconciled  in  Christ  Jesus.  They  look 
on  Him  as  a  God  whose  attributes  are  all 
satisfied  by  their  great  Mediator  and  peace- 
maker, the  Lord  Jesus, — as  a  God  who  is  just, 
and  yet  the  justifier  of  every  one  that  be- 
lieveth  on  Jesus.  As  a  Father,  they  draw 
near  to  Him  with  boldness.  As  a  Father, 
they  can  speak  to  Him  with  freedom.  They 
have  exchanged  the  spirit  of  bondage  for  that 
of  liberty,  and  the  spirit  of  fear  for  that  of 
love.  They  know  that  God  is  holy,  but  they 
are  not  afraid.  They  know  that  they  are  sin- 
ners, but  they  are  not  afraid.  Though  holy, 
they  believe  that  God  is  completely  recon- 
ciled. Though  sinners,  they  believe  they  are 
clothed  all  over  with  Jesus  Christ.  Such  is 
the  feeling  of  the  sons  of  God. 


— . ^ 

i 

•'are  you  an  iieik?"  67       i 


I  allow  that  some  of  them  have  this  feel- 
ing more  vividly  than  others.  Some  of  them 
carry  about  scraps  and  remnants  of  the  old 
spirit  of  bondage  to  their  dying  day.  Many 
of  them  have  fits  and  paroxysms  of  the  old 
man's  complaint  of  fear  returning  upon  them 
at  intervals.  But  very  few  of  the  sons  of  God 
could  be  found  who  would  not  say,  if  cross- 
examined,  that  since  they  knew  Christ  they 
have  had  very  different  feelings  towards  God, 
from  what  they  ever  had  before.  They  feel 
as  if  something  like  the  old  Eoman  form  of 
adoption  had  taken  place  between  themselves 
and  their  Father  in  heaven.  They  feel  as  if 
He  had  said  to  each  one  of  them,  "Wilt  thou 
be  my  son  ?"  and  as  if  their  hearts  had  re- 
plied, "I  will." 

Eeader,  try  to  grasp  this  also,  and  hold  it 
fast.  The  sons  of  God  are  a  people  who  feel 
towards  God  in  a  way  that  the  children  of  the 
world  do  not.  They  feel  no  more  slavish  fear 
towards  Him.  They  feel  towards  Him  as  a 
reconciled  parent.  This  then  is  another  mark 
of  sonship. 


I 

68  "aee  tou  an  heir?" 


8.  But  again,  the  sons  of  God  have  the  luit- 
7iess  of  the  Spirit  in  their  consciences.  What 
says  the  Scripture?  "The  Spirit  itself  bear- 
eth  witness  with  our  spirit,  that  we  are  the 
children  of  God."     (Rom.  viii.  16.) 

They  have  all  got  something  within  their 
hearts,  which  tells  them  there  is  a  relationship 
between  themselves  and  God.  They  feel 
something  which  tells  them  that  old  things 
are  passed  away,  and  all  things  become  new, 
— that  guilt  is  gone, — that  peace  is  restored, 
that  heaven's  door  is  open,  and  hell's  door  is 
shut.  They  have,  in  short,  what  the  children 
of  the  world  have  not, — a  felt,  positive,  rea- 
sonable hope.  They  have  what  Paul  calls  the 
"seal"  and  "earnest"  of  the  Spirit.  (2  Cor. 
i.  22.     Ephes.  i.  13.) 

Reader,  I  do  not  for  a  moment  deny  that 
this  witness  of  the  Spirit  is  exceedingly  various 
in  the  extent  to  which  the  sons  of  God  possess 
it.  With  some  it  is  a  loud,  clear,  ringing, 
distinct  testimony  of  conscience  : — "  I  am 
Christ's,  and  Christ  is  mine."  With  others  it 
is  a  little,  feeble,  stammering  whisper,  which 


the  devil  and  the  flesh  often  prevent  being 
heard.  Some  of  the  children  of  God  speed  on 
their  course  towards  heaven  under  the  full 
sails  of  assurance.  Others  are  tossed  to  and 
fro  all  their  voyage,  and  will  scarce  believe 
they  have  got  faith.  But  take  the  least  and 
lowest  of  the  sons  of  God.  Ask  him  if  he 
will  give  up  the  little  bit  of  religious  hope 
which  he  has  attained  ?  Ask  him  if  he  will 
exchange  his  heart,  with  all  its  doubts  and 
conflicts,  its  fightings  and  fears, — ask  him  if 
he  will  exchange  that  heart  for  the  heart  of 
the  downright  worldly  and  careless  man? 
Ask  him  if  he  would  be  content  to  turn 
round  and  throw  down  the  things  he  has  got 
hold  of,  and  go  back  to  the  world?  Who 
can  doubt  what  the  answer  would  be ?  "I 
cannot  do  that,"  he  would  reply,  ''I  do  not 
know  whether  I  have  faith:  I  do  not  feel 
sure  I  have  got  grace  :  but  I  have  got  some- 
thing within  me  I  would  not  like  to  part 
with."  And  what  is  that  "  something  .^"  I 
will  tell  you.  It  is  the  witness  of  the  Spirit. 
Eeader,  try  to  understand  this  also.     The 


sons  of  God  have  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  in 
their  consciences.  This  is  another  mark  of 
sonship. 

4.  One  thing  more  let  me  add.  All  the 
sons  of  Grod  take  'part  in  suffering  with  Christ. 
What  says  the  Scripture  ?  "If  children,  then 
heirs,  heirs  of  God  and  joint  heirs  with  Christ, 
if  so  be  that  we  suffer  with  Him."  (Rom. 
viii.  17.) 

All  the  children  of  God  have  a  cross  to 
carry.  They  have  trials,  troubles,  and  afflic- 
tions to  go  through  for  the  Gospel's  sake. 
They  have  trials  from  the  world, — trials  from 
the  flesh, — and  trials  from  the  devil.  They 
have  trials  of  feeling  from  relations  and 
friends, — hard  words,  hard  conduct,  and  hard 
judgment.  They-have  trials  in  the  matter  of 
character  ; — slander,  misrepresentation,  mock- 
ery, insinuation  of  false  motives, — all  these 
often  jain  thick  upon  them.  The  have  trials 
in  the  matter  of  worldly  interest.  They  have 
often  to  choose  whether  they  will  please  man, 
and  lose  glory,  or  gain  glory,  and  offend  man. 
They  have  trials  from  their  own  hearts.    They 


r~' 


"akk  you  an  heik?"  71 

have  each  generally  their  own  thorn  in  the 
flesh, — their  own  home-devil,  who  is  their 
worst  foe.  This  is  the  experience  of  the  sons 
of  God. 

Some  of  them  suffer  more,  and  some  less. 
Some  of  them  suffer  in  one  way,  and  some  in 
another.  God  measures  out  their  portions 
like  a  wise  physician,  and  cannot  err.  But 
never,  I  believe,  was  there  one  child  of  God 
who  reached  paradise  without  a  cross. 

Suffering  is  the  diet  of  the  Lord's  family. 
"  Whom  the  Lord  loveth  He  chasteneth." 
"If  ye  be  without  chastisement,  then  are  ye 
bastards,  and  not  sons."  "  Through  much 
tribulation  we  must  enter  the  kingdom  of  God." 
When  Bishop  Latimer  was  told  by  his  land- 
lord that  he  had  never  had  a  trouble,  "  Then," 
said  he,  "  God  cannot  be  here." 

Suffering  is  a  part  of  the  process  by  which 
the  sons  of  God  are  sanctified.  They  are 
chastened  to  wean  them  from  the  world,  and 
make  them  partakers  of  God's  holiness.  The 
Captain  of  their  salvation  was  made  perfect 
through  sufferings,  and  so  are  they.     There 


never  yet  was  a  great  saint  who  had  not  either 
great  afflictions  or  great  corruptions.  Well 
said  Philip  Melancthon,  "  Where  there  are  no 
cares  there  will  generally  be  no  prayers." 

Eeader,  try  to  settle  this  down  into  your 
heart  also.  The  sons  of  God  have  all  to  hear 
a  cross.  A  suffering  Saviour  generally  has 
suffering  disciples.  The  Bridegroom  was  a 
man  of  sorrows.  The  bride  must  not  be  a 
woman  of  pleasures,  and  unacquainted  with 
grief.  Blessed  are  they  that  morn.  Let  us 
not  murmur  at  the  cross.  This  also  is  a  sign 
of  sonship. 

Eeader,  I  warn  you  never  to  suppose  that 
you  are  a  son  of  God  except  you  have  the 
scriptural  marks  of  sonship.  Beware  of  a 
sonship  without  evidences.  Again  I  say  be- 
ware. When  a  man  has  no  leading  of  the 
Spirit  to  show  me, — no  spirit  of  adoption  to 
tell  of, — no  witness  of  the  Spirit  in  his  consci- 
ence,— no  cross  in  his  experience, — is  this  man 
a  son  of  God  ?  God  forbid  that  I  should  say 
so !  His  spot  is  not  the  spot  of  God's  children. 
He  is  no  heir  of  Glory. 


Tell  me  not  that  you  have  been  baptized 
and  taught  the  catechism  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  therefore  must  be  a  child  of 
God.  I  tell  you  that  the  parish  register  is 
not  the  book  of  life.  I  tell  you  that  to  be 
styled  a  child  of  God,  and  called  regenerate 
in  infancy  by  the  faith  and  charity  of  the 
Prayer-book,  is  one  thing ; — but  to  be  a  child 
of  God  in  deed  another  thing  altogether.  Go 
and  read  that  catechism  again.  It  is  the 
"death  unto  sin  and  the  new  birth  unto  right- 
eousness" which  makes  men  children  of  grace. 
Except  you  know  these  by  experience,  you 
are  no  son  of  God. 

Tell  me  not  that  you  are  a  member  of 
Christ's  Church,  and  so  must  be  a  son.  I  an- 
swer that  the  sons  of  the  church  are  not  neces- 
sarily the  sons  of  God.  Such  sonship  is  not 
the  sonship  of  the  eighth  of  Romans.  That  is 
the  sonship  you  must  have,  if  you  are  to  be 
saved. 

And  now,  I  doubt  not  some  reader  of  this 
tract  will  want  to  know  if  he  may  not  be  saved 
without  the  witness  of  the  Spirit. 


I  answer,  if  you  mean  by  the  witness  of  the 
Spirit,  the  full  assurance  of,  hope,  you  may  be  so 
saved  without  question.  But  if  you  want  to 
know  whether  a  man  can  be  saved  without 
any  inward  sense,  or  knowledge,  or  hope  of 
salvation,  I  answer  that  ordinarily  he  cannot. 
I  warn  you  plainly  to  cast  away  all  indecision 
as  to  your  state  before  God,  and  to  make  your 
calling  sure.  Clear  up  your  position  and  re- 
lationship. Do  not  think  there  is  anything 
praiseworthy  in  always  doubting.  Leave  that 
to  the  Papist.  Do  not  fancy  it  wise  to  be  ever 
living  like  the  borderers  of  old  time,  on  the 
"debatable  ground."  "Assurance,"  said  old 
Dod,  the  puritan,  "  may  be  attained,  and  what 
have  we  been  doing  all  our  lives  since  we  be- 
came Christians  if  we  have  not  attained  it  ?" 

I  doubt  not  some  true  Christians  who  read 
this  tract  will  think  their  evidence  of  sonship 
is  too  small  to  be  good,  and  will  write  bitter 
things  against  themselves.  Let  me  try  to  cheer 
them.  Who  gave  you  the  feelings  you  pos- 
sess ?  Who  made  you  hate  sin  ?  Who  made 
you  love  Christ  ?     Who  made  you  long  and 


"aee  you  an  heir?"  75 


labor  to  be  holy  ?  Whence  did  these  feelings 
come  ?  Did  they  come  from  nature  ?  There 
are  no  such  products  in  a  natural  man's  heart. 
Did  they  come  from  the  devil  ?  He  would 
fain  stifle  such  feelings  altogether.  Cheer  up, 
and  take  courage.  Fear  not,  neither  be  cast 
down.  Press  forward,  and  go  on.  There  is 
hope  for  you  after  all.  Strive.  Labor.  Seek. 
Ask.  Knock.  Follow  on.  You  shall  yet  see 
that  you  are  sons  of  God. 

III.  Let  me  show  you,  in  the  last  place,  the 
^privileges  of  the  true  Christianas  relation  to  God. 

Nothing  can  be  conceived  more  glorious  than 
the  prospects  of  the  sons  of  God.  The  words 
of  Scripture  which  head  this  tract  contain  a 
rich  mine  of  good  and  comfortable  things. 
"  If  we  are  children,"  says  Paul,  "  we  are  heirs, 
heirs  of  God,  and  joint  heirs  with  Christ,— to 
be  glorified  together  with  Him."  (Kom.  viii. 
17.) 

True  Christians  then  are  ''heirs." — Some- 
thing is  prepared  for  them  all  which  is  yet  to 
be  revealed. 

They  are  "heirs  pf  God."--To  be  heirs  of 


tlie  rich  on  earth  is  soniething.  How  much 
more  then  is  it  to  be  son  and  heir  of  the  King 
of  kings ! 

They  are  "joint  heirs  with  Christ."  They 
shall  share  in  His  majesty,  and  take  part  in 
His  glory.  They  shall  be  glorified  together 
with  Him. 

And  this,  remember,  is  for  all  the  children. 
Abraham  took  care  to  provide  for  all  his  chil- 
dren, and  God  takes  care  to  provide  for  His. 
None  of  them  are  disinherited.  None  will  be 
cast  out.  None  will  be  cut  off.  Each  shall 
stand  in  his  lot,  and  have  a  portion,  in  the 
day  when  the  Lord  brings  many  sons  to  glory. 

Reader,  who  can  tell  the  fall  nature  of  the 
inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light?  Who  can 
describe  the  glory  which  is  yet  to  be  revealed 
and  given  to  the  children  of  God  ?  Words 
fail  us.  Language  falls  short.  Mind  cannot 
conceive  fully,  and  tongue  cannot  express  per- 
fectly, the  things  which  are  comprised  in  the 
glory  yet  to  come  upon  the  sons  and  daugh- 
ters of  the  Lord  Almighty.  Oh!  it  is  indeed 
a  true  saying  of  the  apostle  John,  "  It  doth 


not  yet  appear  wliat  we  shall  be."     (1  John, 
iii.  2.) 

The  very  Bible  itself  only  lifts  the  veil  a 
little  which  hangs  over  this  subject.  How 
could  it  do  more  ?  We  could  not  thoroughly 
understand  more  if  more  had  been  told  us. 
Our  constitution  is  as  yet  too  earthly, — our  un- 
derstanding is  as  yet  too  carnal  to  appreciate 
more,  if  we  had  it.  The  Bible  generally  deals 
with  the  subject  in  negative  terms,  and  not  in 
positive  assertions.  It  describes  what  there 
will  not  be  in  the  glorious  inheritance,  that 
thus  we  may  get  some  faint  idea  of  what  there 
will  be.  It  paints  the  absence  of  certain  things, 
in  order  that  we  may  drink  in  a  little  the 
blessedness  of  the  things  'present  It  tells  us 
that  the  inheritance  is  incorruptible,  undefiled, 
and  fadeth  not  away.  It  tells  us  that  the 
crown  of  glory  fadeth  not  away.  It  tells  us 
that  the  devil  is  to  be  bound,  that  there  shall 
be  no  more  night  and  no  more  curse,  that 
death  shall  be  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire,  that 
all  tears  shall  be  wiped  away,  and  that  the  in- 
habitant shall  no  more  say,  *'  I  am  sick."     And 


these  are  glorious  things  indeed  !  No  corrup- 
tion ! — No  fading! — No  withering! — No  devil  1 
— No  curse  of  sin ! — No  sorrow  ! — No  tears  ! — 
No  sickness  ! — No  death !  Surely  the  cup  of 
the  children  of  God  will  indeed  run  over  1 

But,  reader,  there  are  positive  things  told  us 
about  the  glory  yet  to  come  upon  the  heirs  of 
God,  which  ought  not  to  be  kept  back.  There 
are  many  sweet,  pleasant,  and  unspeakable 
comforts  in  their  future  inheritance,  Avhich  all 
true  Christians  would  do  well  to  consider. 
There  are  cordials  for  fainting  pilgrims  in 
many  words  and  expressions  of  Scripture, 
which  you  and  I  ought  to  lay  up  against  time 
of  need. 

Is  knowledge  pleasant  to  us  now  ?  Is  the  lit- 
tle that  we  know  of  God  and  Christ,  and  the 
Bible  precious  to  our  souls,  and  do  we  long 
for  more  ?  We  shall  have  it  perfectly  in  glory. 
What  says  the  Scripture  ?  "  Then  shall  I  know 
even  as  also  I  am  known."  (1  Cor.  xiii.  12.) 
Blessed  be  God,  there  will  be  no  more  dis- 
agreements among  believers!  Episcopalians 
and  Presbyterians, — Calvinists  and  Armenians, 


—  Millennarians  and  Anti-Millennarians,  — 
friends  of  Establishments  and  friends  of  the 
voluntary  system, — advocates  of  infant  bap- 
tism and  advocates  of  adult  baptism, — all  will 
at  length  see  eye  to  eye.  The  former  igno- 
rance will  have  passed  away.  We  shall  mar- 
vel to  find  how  childish  and  blind  we  have 
been. 

Is  holiness  pleasant  to  us  now  ?  Is  sin  the 
burden  and  bitterness  of  our  lives  ?  Do  we 
long  for  entire  conformity  to  the  image  of 
God  ?  We  shall  have  it  perfectly  in  glory. 
What  says  the  Scripture?  "  Christ  gave  him- 
self for  the  church  that  He  might  present  it  to 
Himself  a  glorious  church,  not  having  spot  or 
wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing."  (Ephes.  v.  27.) 
Oh !  the  blessedness  of  an  eternal  good  bye  to 
sin  !  Oh  I  how  little  the  best  of  us  do  at  pre- 
sent 1  Oh  !  what  unutterable  corruption  sticks, 
like  bird-lime,  to  all  our  motives,  all  our 
thoughts,  all  our  words,  all  our  actions  !  Oh! 
how  many  of  us,  like  Naphtali,  are  goodly  in 
our  words,  but  like  Eeuben,  unstable  in  our 
works  !  Thank  God,  all  this  shall  be  changed ! 


Is  rest  pleasant  to  us  now  ?  Do  we  often 
feel  faint  though  pursuing  ?  Do  we  long  for 
a  world  in  which  we  need  not  be  always 
watching  and  warring?  We  shall  have  it 
perfectly  in  glory.  What  saith  the  Scripture  ? 
*'  There  remaineth  a  rest  for  the  people  of 
God."  (Heb.  iv.  9.)  The  daily,  hourly  con- 
flict with  the  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil, 
shall  at  length  be  at  an  end.  The  enemy  shall 
be  bound.  The  warfare  shall  be  over.  The 
wicked  shall  at  last  cease  from  troubling.  The 
weary  shall  at  length  be  at  rest.  There  shall 
be  a  great  calm. 

Is  service  pleasant  to  us  now  ?  Do  we  find 
it  sweet  to  work  for  Christ,  and  yet  groan,  be* 
ing  burdened  by  a  feeble  body  ?  Is  our  spirit 
often  willing,  but  hampered  and  clogged  by 
the  poor  weak  flesh  ?  Have  our  hearts  burn- 
ed within  us,  when  we  have  been  allowed  to 
give  a  cup  of  cold  water  for  Christ's  sake,  and 
have  we  sighed  to  think  what  unprofitable 
servants  we  are  ?  Let  us  take  comfort.  We 
shall  be  able  to  serve  perfectly  in  glory,  and 
without  weariness.  What  saith  the  Scripture  ? 


"  They  serve  him  day  and  night  in  his  tem- 
ple." (Rev.  vii.  15.) 

Is  satisfaction  pleasant  to  ns  now?  Do  we 
find  the  world  empty  ?  Do  we  long  for  the 
filling  up  of  every  void  place  and  gap  in  our 
hearts  ?  We  shall  have  it  perfectly  in  glory.* 
We  shall  no  longer  have  to  mourn  over  cracks 
in  all  our  earthen  vessels,  and  thorns  in  all  our 
roses,  and  bitter  dregs  in  all  our  sweet  cups. 
We  shall  no  longer  lament  with  Jonah  over 
withered  gourds.  We  shall  no  longer  say 
with  Solomon,  "  all  is  vanity  and  vexation  of 
spirit."  We  shall  no  longer  cry  with  aged 
David,  "I  have  seen  an  end  of  all  perfection." 
What  saith  the  Scripture  ?  "I  shall  be  satis- 
fied when  I  awake  with  thy  likeness."  (Psalm, 
xvii.  15.) 

Is  communion  ivith  the  saints  pleasant  to  us 
now  ?  Do  we  feel  that  we  are  never  so  happy 
as  when  we  are  with  the  excellent  of  the 
earth  ?  Are  we  never  so  much  at  home  as  in 
their  company  ?  We  shall  have  it  perfectly 
in  glory.  What  saith  the  Scripture  ?  "  The 
Son  of  man  shall  send  his  angels,  and  they 

6 


i 

82  "are  you  an  heir?" 

shall  gather  out  of  his  kingdom  all  things  that 
offend,  and  them  which  work  iniquity."  "  He 
shall  send  his  angels  with  a  great  sound  of  a 
trumpet,  and  they  shall  gather  together  his 
elect  from  the  four  winds."  (Matt.  xiii.  41., 
xxiv.  81.)  Praised  be  God !  we  shall  see  all 
the  saints  of  whom  we  have  read  in  the  Bible, 
and  in  whose  steps  we  have  tried  to  walk.  We 
shall  see  apostles,  prophets,  patriarchs,  mar- 
tyrs, reformers,  missionaries,  and  ministers,  of 
whom  the  world  was  not  worthy.  We  shall 
see  the  faces  of  those  we  have  known  and 
loved  in  Christ  on  earth,  and  over  whose  de- 
parture we  shed  bitter  tears.  We  shall  see 
them  more  bright  and  glorious  than  they  ever 
were  before.  And  best  of  all,  we  shall  see 
them  without  hurry  and  anxiety,  and  without 
feeling  that  we  only  meet  to  part  again.  In 
glory  there  is  no  death,  no  parting,  no  fare- 
well! 

Is  Communion  with  Christ  pleasant  to  us 
now  ?  Do  we  find  His  name  precious  to  us  ? 
Do  we  feel  our  hearts  burn  within  us  at  the 
thought  of  His  dying  love  ?     We  shall  have 


perfect  communion  with  Him  in  glory.  "  We 
shall  ever  be  with  the  Lord."  (1  Thes.  iv.  17.) 
We  shall  be  with  him  in  Paradise.  We  shall 
see  His  face  in  the  kingdom.  These  eyes  of 
ours  will  behold  those  hands  and  feet  which 
were  pierced  with  nails,  and  that  head  which 
was  crowned  with  thorns.  Where  He  is,  there 
will  the  sons  of  God  be.  When  He  comes, 
they  will  come  with  Him.  When  He  sits  down 
in  His  glory,  they  shall  sit  down  by  His  side. 
Blessed  prospect  indeed !  I  am  a  dying  man 
in  a  dying  world  !  All  before  me  is  dark ! 
The  world  to  come  is  a  harbor  unknown  ! 
But  Christ  is  there,  and  that  is  enough. 
Surely  if  there  is  rest  and  peace  in  following 
Him  by  faith  on  earth,  there  will  be  far  more 
rest  and  peace  when  we  see  Him  face  to  face. 
If  we  have  found  it  good  to  follow  the  pillar 
of  cloud  and  fire  in  the  wilderness,  we  shall 
find  it  a  thousand  times  better  to  sit  down  in 
our  eternal  inheritance  with  our  Joshua  in  the 
promised  land. 

Ah !  reader,  if  you  are  not  yet  among  the 
sons  and  heirs,  I  do  pity  you  with  all  my 


heart.  How  much  you  are  missing !  How- 
little  true  comfort  you  are  enjoying !  There 
you  are,  struggling  on,  and  toiling  in  the  fire, 
and  wearying  yourself  for  mere  earthly  ends, 
— seeking  rest,  and  finding  none, — chasing 
shadows  and  never  catching  them, — wonder- 
ing why  you  are  not  happy,  and  yet  refusing 
to  see  the  cause, — hungry,  and  thirsty,  and 
empty,  and  yet  blind  to  the  plenty  within 
your  reach.  Oh !  that  you  were  wise !  Oh  ! 
that  you  would  hear  the  voice  of  Jesus,  and 
learn  of  Him ! 

Eeader,  if  you  are  one  of  those  who  are 
sons  and  heirs,  you  may  well  rejoice  and  be 
happy.  You  may  well  wait  like  the  boy  Pa- 
tience in  Pilgrim's  Progress.  Your  best  things 
are  yet  to  come. — You  may  well  bear  crosses 
without  murmuring.  Your  light  affliction  is 
but  for  a  moment.  The  sufferings  of  this  pre- 
sent time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  to 
the  glory  which  is  to  be  revealed.  When 
Christ  our  life  appears,  then  you  also  shall  ap- 
pear with  Him  in  glory. — You  may  well  not 
enyj  the  transgressor  and  his  prosperity.   You 


t 


are  the  truly  rich.  Well  said  a  dying  believer 
in  my  own  parish,  "I  am  more  rich  than  I 
ever  was  in  my  life."  You  may  say  as  Mephi- 
bosheth  said  to  David,  "Let  the  world  take 
all,  my  king  is  coming  again  in  peace."  You 
may  say  as  Alexander  said,  when  he  gave  all 
his  riches  away,  and  was  asked  what  he  kept 
for  himself,  "  I  have  hope." — You  may  well 
not  be  cast  down  by  sickness.  The  eternal 
part  of  you  is  safe  and  provided  for,  whatever 
happens  to  your  body. — You  may  well  look 
calmly  on  death.  It  opens  a  door  between 
you  and  your  inheritance. — You  may  well  not 
sorrow  excessively  over  the  things  of  the 
world, — over  partings  and  bereavements, — 
over  losses  and  crosses.  The  day  of  gather- 
ing is  before  you.  Your  treasure  is  beyond 
reach  of  harm.  Heaven  is  becoming  every 
year  more  full  of  those  you  love,  and  earth 
more  empty.  Glory  in  your  inheritance.  It 
is  all  yours  if  you  are  a  son  of  God.  ''  If  we 
are  children,  then  we  are  heirs." 

And  now,  reader,  in  concluding  this  tract, 
let  me  ask  you,,  Whose  child  are  you  f     Are  you 


the  child  of  nature  or  the  child  of  grace  ?  Are 
you  the  child  of  the  devil  or  the  child  of  God  ? 
You  cannot  be  both  at  once.  Which  are  you  ? 

Settle  the  question,  reader,  for  you  must  die 
at  last  either  one  or  the  other.  Settle  it,  read- 
er, for  it  can  be  settled,  and  it  is  folly  to  leave 
it  doubtful.  Settle  it,  for  time  is  short,  the 
world  is  getting  old,  and  you  are  fast  drawing 
near  to  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ.  Settle  it, 
for  death  is  nigh,  the  Lord  is  at  hand,  and  who 
can  tell  what  a  day  might  bring  forth  ?  Oh  ! 
that  you  would  never  rest  till  the  question  is 
settled  !  Oh  !  that  you  may  never  feel  satis- 
fied till  you  can  say,  "  I  have  been  born  again, 
— I  am  a  son  of  God." 

Eeader,  if  you  are  not  a  son  and  heir  of  God, 
Jet  me  entreat  you  to  become  one  without  delay. 
Would  you  be  rich  ?  There  are  unsearchable 
riches  in  Christ.  Would  you  be  noble  ?  You 
shall  be  a  king.  Would  you  be  happy  ?  You 
shall  have  a  peace  which  passeth  understand- 
ing, and  which  the  world  can  never  give,  and 
never  take  away.  Oh!  come  out,  and  take 
up  the  cross,  and  follow  Christ !     Come  out 


I 

j  "aee  you  an  heie?"  87 

!  from  among  tlie  thouglitless  and  worldly,  and 
j  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord,  "I  will  receive 
you,  and  will  be  a  Father  unto  you,  and  ye 
shall  be  my  sons  and  daughters,  saith  the  Lord 
j  Almighty."  (2  Cor.  vi.  18.) 
I  Eeader,  if  you  are  a  son  of  God,  I  beseech  you 

I  to  walk  worthy  of  your  Father's  house.  I  charge 
I  you  solemnly  to  honor  Him  in  your  life  ;  and 
I  above  all  to  honor  Him  by  implicit  obedience 
I  to  all  His  commands,  and  hearty  love  to  all 
His  children.  Labor  to  travel  through  the 
j  world  like  a  child  of  God  and  heir  of  glory. 
I  Let  men  be  able  to  trace  a  family  likeness  be- 
tween you  and  Him  that  begat  you.  Live  a 
I  heavenly  life.  Seek  things  that  are  above. 
I  Do  not  seem  to  be  building  your  nest  below. 
j  Behave  like  a  man  who  seeks  a  city  out  of 
sight,  whose  citizenship  is  in  heaven,  and  who 
would  be  content  with  many  hardships  till  he 
gets  home. 

Labor  to  feel  like  a  son  of  God  in  every  con- 
dition in  which  you  are  placed.  Never  forget 
you  are  on  your  Father's  ground  so  long  as 
you  are  here  on  earth.     Never  forget  that 


88  "are  you  an  heir?" 

a  Father's  hand  sends  all  your  mercies  and 
crosses.  Cast  every  care  on  Him.  Be  happy 
and  cheerful  in  Him.  "Why  indeed  art  thou 
ever  sad  if  thou  art  the  King's  son  ?  Why 
should  men  ever  doubt,  when  they  look  at 
you,  whether  it  is  a  pleasant  thing  to  be  one 
of  God's  children  ? 

Labor  to  heliave  towards  others  like  a  son  of 
Ood.  Be  blameless  and  harmless  in  your  day 
and  generation.  Be  a  peacemaker  among  all 
you  know.  Seek  for  your  children's  sonship 
to  God  above  everything  else.  Seek  for  them 
an  inheritance  in  heaven,  whatever  else  you 
do  for  them.  No  man  leaves  his  children  so 
well  provided  for,  as  he  who  leaves  them  sons 
and  heirs  of  God. 

Persevere  in  your  Christian  calling,  if  you 
are  a  son  of  God,  and  press  forward  more  and 
more.  Be  careful  to  lav  aside  every  weight, 
and  the  sin  which  most  easily  besets  you.  Keep 
your  eyes  steadily  fixed  on  Jesus.  Abide  in 
Him.  Remember  that  without  Him  you  can 
do  nothing,  and  with  Him  you  can  do  all 
things.    Watch  and  pray  daily.     Be  steadfast, 


"are  you  an  heir?"  89 

unmovable,  and  always  abounding  in  the  work 
of  the  Lord.  Settle  it  down  in  your  heart, 
that  not  a  cup  of  cold  water  given  in  the  name 
j  of  a  disciple,  shall  lose  its  reward,  and  that 
I  every  year  you  are  so  much  nearer  home. 
I  Yet  a  little  time  and  He  that  shall  come 

i  will  come,  and  will  not  tarry.  Then  shall  be 
the  glorious  liberty,  and  the  full  manifestation 
I  of  the  sons  of  God.  Then  shall  the  world 
i  acknowledge  that  they  were  the  truly  wise. 
I  Then  shall  the  sons  of  God  at  length  come  of 
age.  Then  shall  they  no  longer  be  heirs  in 
expectancy,  but  heirs  in  possession.  And 
then  shall  they  hear  with  exceeding  joy  those 
comfortable  words,  ''  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my 
Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world."  (Matt.  xxv. 
84.)  Surely  that  day  will  make  amends  for  all  I 
That  all  who  read  this  tract  may  see  the 
value  of  the  inheritance  of  glory,  and  be  found 
at  length  in  possession  of  it,  is  my  heart's  de- 
sire and  prayer. 

I  remain,  your  affectionate  friend, 

J.  C.  Rtle. 


4t 


B\nn  im  ht  ^attti?" 


"  Are  there  few  that  "be  saved?" — Luee  xiii.  23. 

Reader, 

I  do  not  know  into  whose  hands  this 
tract  may  fall.  But  I  know  there  is  no  living 
soul  who  ought  not  to  feel  an  interest  in  its 
subject.  Young  men  or  maidens,  old  men  or 
children,  married  or  single,  gentle  or  simple, 
listen  to  a  Christmas  question ; — jShall  you  be 
saved  f 

What  does  Christmas  mean  ?  Is  it  not  the 
time  of  year  when  men  are  reminded  of  Christ 
the  Saviour's  birth?  Are  you  not  told  to 
remember  how  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to 
save  sinners  ?  All  this  is  true.  There  is  no 
denying  it.  The  birth  of  Christ  the  Saviour, 
— the  manhood  of  Christ  the  Saviour, — the 
salvation  provided  by  Christ  the  Saviour, — 
all  these  are  mighty  facts.     But  after  all  will 


^* SHALL  YOU  BE  SATED?"  91 

they  profit  you  anything  ?     Will  they  do  you 
any  good  ?     In  one  word, — shall  you  he  saved  ? 

It  may  be  you  are  hoping  to  have  a  merry 
Christmas.  You  are  going  to  assemble  your 
family,  and  gather  all  the  beloved  ones  within 
your  reach  round  your  fire-side.  You  are 
about  to  eat  the  fat,  and  drink  the  sweet,  and 
forget  cares  for  a  season.  It  is  all  well.  I 
am  no  enemy  to  mirth  in  moderation.  But 
this  I  say, — your  family  circle  cannot  always 
be  unbroken.  Yet  a  little  while,  and  your 
fire-side  will  know  you  no  more.  You  will 
be  lying  in  a  narrow,  silent  home.  And 
then,  consider, — shall  you  he  saved  ? 

It  may  be  you  are  rich  and  prosperous  in 
this  world.  You  have  money,  and  all  that 
money  can  command.  You  have  honor,  love, 
obedience,  troops  of  friends.  But  remember, 
riches  are  not  forever.  You  cannot  keep 
them  longer  than  a  few  years.  It  is  appoint- 
ed unto  men  once  to  die,  and  after  that  the 
judgment.  And  then,  consider, — shall  you  he 
savedj 

It  may  be  you  are  poor  and  needy.     You 


92  "shall  you  be  saved?" 

have  scarcely  enougli  to  provide  food  and 
raiment  for  yourself  and  family.  You  are 
often  distressed  for  want  of  comforts,  wliich 
you  have  no  power  to  get.  Like  Lazarus, 
you  seem  to  have  evil  things  only,  and  not 
good.  But  you  take  comfort  in  the  thought 
that  there  is  an  end  of  all  this.  There  is  a 
world  to  come,  where  poverty  and  want  shall 
be  unknown.  But,  consider  a  moment, — shall 
you  he  saved  f 

It  may  be  you  have  a  weak  and  sickly 
body.  You  hardly  know  what  it  is  to  be 
free  from  pain.  You  have  so  long  parted 
company  with  health  that  you  have  almost 
forgotten  what  it  is  like.  You  have  often 
said  in  the  morning,  "  would  God  it  were 
evening," — and  in  the  evening,  "  would  God 
it  were  morning."  There  are  days  when  you 
are  tempted  by  very  weariness  to  cry  out  with 
Jonah,  ''  it  is  better  to  die  than  to  live."  But, 
remember,  death  is  not  all.  There  is  some- 
thing else  beyond  the  grave.  And  then,  con- 
sider,— shall  you  he  saved  f 

Keader,  I  entreat  you  in  all   affection,  to 


"shall  you  be  saved?"  93 

examine  the  question  I  put  before  you.  I 
address  you  as  a  dying  creature, — an  im- 
mortal creature, — a  creature  going  to  be 
judged  before  the  bar  of  God.  As  ever  you 
would  die  in  peace,  rise  again  with  hope,  be 
acquitted  in  the  day  of  judgment,  and  live  for 
ever  in  glory, — give  me  a  hearing  this  day. 
Shall  you  be  saved  ? 

If  it  were  an  easy  thing  to  be  saved,  I 
would  not  address  you  as  I  do.  But  is  it  so  ? 
Let  us  see. 

If  the  common  opinion  of  the  world,  as  to 
the  number  of  the  saved,  was  correct,  I  would 
not  trouble  you.     But  is  it  so  ?     Let  us  see. 

If  God  had  never  spoken  plainly  in  the 
Bible  about  the  number  of  the  saved,  I  might 
well  be  silent.     But  is  it  so  ?    Let  us  see. 

If  experience  and  facts  left  it  doubtful 
whether  many  or  few  would  be  saved,  I  might 
hold  my  peace.     But  is  it  so  ?     Let  us  see. 

Come  now,  and  let  me  set  before  you  in 
order  the  four  following  points, 

I.  Let  me  explain  what  it  is  to  he  saved. 


II.  Let  me  point  out  the  mistakes  which  are 
common  in  the  world  about  the  niimher  of  the 
saved. 

III.  Let  me  show  what  the  Bible  says  about 
the  number  of  the  saved. 

lY.  Let  me  bring  forward  some  plain  facts, 
as  to  the  number  of  the  saved. 

Reader,  if  you  go  along  with  me  in  these 
four  points,  you  will  be  better  able  to  under- 
stand the  importance  of  the  question, — "Shall 
you  be  saved  ?" 

I.  Mrst  of  all  let  me  explain  what  it  is  to 
be  saved. 

This  is  a  matter  that  must  be  cleared  up. 
Till  you  know  this,  you  cannot  answer  my 
question.  By  being  saved  I  may  mean  one 
thing,  and  you  may  mean  another.  Let  me 
tell  you  what  I  find  the  Bible  says  it  is  to 
be  saved,  and  then  there  will  be  no  mis- 
understanding. 

To  be  saved,  is  not  merely  to  profess  and 
call  yourself  a  Christian.  You  may  have  all 
the  outward  parts  of  Christianity,  and  yet  be 


lost  after  all.  You  may  be  baptized  into 
Christ's  Church, — go  to  Christ'^  table, — have 
Christian  knowledge, — be  reckoned  a  Chris- 
tian man, — and  yet  be  a  dead  soul  all  your 
days ; — and  at  last  be  found  on  Christ's  left 
hand,  among  the  goats.  No  !  reader,  this  is 
not  salvation.  Salvation  is  something  far 
higher  and  deeper  than  this. 

To  be  saved,  is  to  be  delivered  in  this  pres- 
ent life  from  the  guilt  of  sin^  by  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Saviour.  It  is  to  be  pardoned, 
justified,  and  freed  from  every  charge  of  sin, 
by  faith  in  Christ's  blood  and  mediation. 
Whosoever  with  his  heart  believes  on  the 
Lord  Jesus,  is  a  saved  soul.  He  shall  not 
perish.  He  shall  have  eternal  life.  This  is 
the  first  part  of  salvation,  and  the  root  of  all 
the  rest.     But  this  is  not  all. 

To  be  saved,  is  to  be  delivered  in  this 
present  life  from  the  power  of  sin^  by  being 
born  again,  and  sanctified  by  Christ's  Spirit. 
It  is  to  be  freed  from  the  hateful  dominion 
of  sin,  the  world,  and  the  devil,  by  having  a 
new  nature   put  in  us  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 


96  "shall  you  be  saved?" 

"Whosoever  is  thus  renewed  in  the  spirit  of 
his  mind,  and  converted,  is  a  saved  soul.  He 
shall  not  perish.  He  shall  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God.  This  is  the  second  part  of 
salvation.     But  this  is  not  all. 

To  be  saved,  is  to  be  delivered  in  the  day 
of  judgment,  from  all  the  awful  consequences 
of  sin.  It  is  to  be  declared  blameless,  spot- 
less, faultless,  and  complete  in  Christ,  while 
others  are  found  guilty,  and  condemned  for 
ever.  It  is  to  hear  those  comfortable  words, 
— "  Come,  ye  blessed,"  while  others  are  hear- 
ing those  fearful  words, — "  Depart,  ye  cursed." 
It  is  to  be  owned  and  confessed  by  Christ, 
as  one  of  his  dear  children  and  servants, 
while  others  are  disowned  and  cast  off  for 
ever.  It  is  to  be  pronounced  free  from  the 
portion  of  the  wicked, — the  worm  that  never 
dies, — the  fire  that  is  not  quenched, — the 
weeping,  wailing,  and  gnashing  of  teeth,  that 
never  ends.  It  is  to  receive  the  reward  pre- 
pared for  the  righteous, — the  glorious  body, 
— the  kingdom  that  is  incorruptible, — the 
crown  that  fadeth  not  away, — and   the  joy 


"shall  you  be  saved?"  97 

that  is  forevermore.  This  is  complete  salva- 
tion. This  is  the  redemption,  for  which  true 
Christians  are  bid  to  look  and  long.  This  is 
the  heritage  of  all  men  and  women,  who 
believe  and  are  born  again.  B}^  faith  they 
are  saved  already.  In  the  eye  of  God,  their 
final  salvation  is  an  absolutely  certain  thing. 
Their  names  are  in  the  book  of  life.  Their 
mansions  in  heaven  are  prepared  already. 
But  still  there  is  a  fulness  of  redemption  and 
salvation,  which  they  do  not  attain  to,  while 
they  are  in  the  body.  They  are  saved  from 
the  guilt  and  power  of  sin, — but  not  from  the 
necessity  of  watching  and  praying  against  it. 
They  are  saved  from  the  fear  and  love  of  the 
world, — but  not  from  the  necessity  of  daily 
fighting  with  it.  They  are  saved  from  the 
service  of  the  devil, — but  they  are  not  saved 
from  being  vexed  by  his  temptations.  But 
when  Christ  comes,  the  salvation  of  believers 
shall  be  complete.  They  possess  it  already 
in  the  bud.  They  shall  see  it  then  in  the 
flower. 

Such  is  salvation.     It  is  to  be  saved  from 
7 


98  "shall  you  be  saved?" 

tlie  guilt,  power,  and  consequences  of  sin.  It 
is  to  believe  and  be  sanctified  now,  and  to  be 
delivered  from  the  wrath  of  God  in  the  last 
day.  He  that  has  the  first  part  in  the  life  that 
now  is,  shall  undoubtedly  have  the  second 
part  in  the  life  to  come.  Both  parts  of  it 
hang  together.  What  God  has  joined  together, 
let  no  man  dare  to  put  asunder.  Let  none 
dream  he  shall  ever  be  saved  at  last,  if  he  is 
not  born  again  first.  Let  none  doubt  if  he  is 
born  again  here,  that  he  shall  assuredly  be 
saved  hereafter. 

Header,  take  notice,  the  chief  object  of  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel,  is  to  set  forward  the 
salvation  of  souls.  I  lay  it  down  as  a  certain 
fact,  that  he  is  no  true  minister,  who  does  not 
feel  this.  Talk  not  of  a  man's  orders !  All 
may  have  been  done  correctly,  and  according 
to  rule.  He  may  wear  a  black  coat,  and  be 
called  a  "  reverend"  man.  But  if  the  saving 
of  souls  is  not  the  grand  interest, —  the  ruling 
passion, — the  absorbing  thought  of  his  heart, 
— ^he  is  no  true  minister  of  the  Gospel.  He  is 
a  hireling,  and  not  a  shepherd.     Congregations 


"SILVLL   YOU   BE   SAVED?"  99 

may  have  called  him, — but  he  is  not  called  hj 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Bishops  may  have  ordained 
him, — but  not  Christ. 

For  what  purpose  do  you  suppose  we  minis- 
ters are  sent  forth  ?  Is  it  merely  to  wear  a 
surplice,— and  read  the  services, — and  preach 
a  certain  number  of  sermons  ?  Is  it  merely 
to  get  a  comfortable  living,  and  be  in  a  re- 
spectable profession  ?  No  !  indeed  !  we  are 
sent  forth  for  other  ends  than  these.  We  are 
sent  to  turn  men  from  darkness  to  light,  and 
from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God.  We  are 
sent  to  persuade  men  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to 
come.  We  are  sent  to  draw  men  from  the 
service  of  the  world  to  the  service  of  God, — 
to  awaken  the  sleeping, — to  arouse  the  care- 
less,— and  by  all  means  to  save  some. 

Think  not  that  all  is  done,  when  we  have 
set  up  regular  services,  and  persuaded  people 
to  attend  them.  Think  not  that  all  is  done, 
when  full  congregations  are  gathered,  and  the 
Lord's  table  is  crowded,  and  the  parish  school 
is  filled.  We  want  to  see  manifest  work  of 
the  Spirit  among  people, — an  evident  sense  of 


sin, — a  lively  faith  in  Christ, — a  decided  change 
of  heart, — a  distinct  separation  from  the  world, 
— a  holy  walk  with  God.  In  one  Avord,  we 
ivant  to  see  souls  saved,  and  we  are  fools  and 
impostors, — blind  leaders  of  the  blind, — if  we 
rest  satisfied  with  anything  less. 

Reader,  take  notice,  that  the  grand  object  of 
having  a  religion,  is  to  be  saved.  This  is  the 
great  question  that  you  have  to  settle  with 
your  conscience,  and  to  which  I  want  you  to 
attend.  The  matter  is  not,  whether  you  go  to 
church  or  chapel, — whether  you  go  through 
certain  forms  and  ceremonies, — whether  you 
observe  certain  days,  and  perform  a  certain 
number  of  religious  duties.  The  matter  is, 
whether,  after  all,  3^ou  will  be  saved.  With- 
out this,  all  your  religious  doings  are  weariness, 
and  labor  in  vain. 

Never,  never  be  content  with  anything 
short  of  a  saving  religion.  Surely  to  have  a 
religion,  which  neither  gives  peace  in  life,  nor 
hope  in  death,  nor  glory  in  the  world  to  come, 
is  childish  folly. 

And  now,  reader,  you  have  heard  what  sal- 


"shall  you  be  saved?"  101 

vation   is.     Consider  calmly  my   question, — 
''SHALL  YOU  BE  SAVED?" 

11.  Let  me,  in  the  second  place,  point  out  the 
mistoJces  which  are  common  in  the  luorld,  about 
the  number  of  the  saved, 

I  need  not  go  far  for  evidence  on  this  subject. 
I  will  speak  of  things,  which  every  man  may  see 
with  his  own  eyes,  and  hear  with  his  own  ears. 

I  will  try  to  show  you,  that  there  is  a  wide- 
spread delusion  abroad  about  this  matter,  and 
that  this  very  delusion  is  one  of  the  greatest 
dangers  to  which  your  soul  is  exposed. 

What  then  do  men  generally  think  about 
the  spiritual  state  of  others,  while  they  are  alive  f 
What  do  they  think  of  the  souls  of  their  re- 
lations, and  friends^  and  neighbors,  and  ac- 
quaintances ?  Let  us  just  see  how  that  ques- 
tion can  be  answered. 

They  know  that  all  around  them  are  going 
to  die,  and  to  be  judged.  They  know  that  they 
have  all  souls  to  be  lost  or  saved.  And  what, 
to  all  appearance,  do  they  consider  their  end 
is  likely  to  be  ? 


J 


Do  they  think  those  around  them  are  in 
danger  of  hell  ?  There  is  nothing  whatever 
to  show  they  think  so.  They  eat  and  drink 
together.  They  laugh,  and  talk,  and  walk, 
and  work  together.  They  seldom,  or  never, 
speak  to  one  another  of  God  and  eternit}^, — of 
heaven  and  of  hell.  I  ask  any  one,  who  knows 
the  world,  as  in  the  sight  of  God,  is  it  not  so  ? 

Will  they  allow  that  anybody  is  wicked  or 
ungodly?  Never,  hardly,  whatever  may  be 
his  way  of  life.  He  may  be  a  breaker  of  the 
Sabbath.  He  may  be  a  neglecter  of  the  Bible. 
He  may  be  utterly  Avithout  evidences  of  true 
religion.  No  matter  !  His  friends  will  often 
tell  you,  that  he  may  not  make  so  much  pro- 
fession as  some,  but  that  he  has  a  "good  heart" 
at  the  bottom,  and  is  not  a  wicked  man.  I 
ask  any  one,  who  knows  the  world,  as  in  God's 
sight,  is  it  not  so  ? 

And  what  does  all  this  prove  ?  It  proves, 
that  men  flatter  themselves,  there  is  no  great 
difl&culty  in  getting  to  heaven.  It  proves 
plainly,  that  men  are  of  opinion,  that  most 
persons  will  be  saved. 


But  what  do  men  generally  think  about  the 
spiritual  state  of  others,  after  they  are  dead? 
Let  us  just  see  how  this  question  can  be  an- 
swered. 

Men  allow,  if  thej  are  not  infidels,  that  all 
who  die  have  gone  to  a  state  of  happiness,  or 
of  misery.  And  to  which  of  these  two  states 
do  they  seem  to  think  the  greater  part  of  per- 
sons go,  when  they  leave  this  world  ? 

I  say,  without  fear  of  contradiction,  that 
there  is  an  unhappily  common  fashion  of 
speaking  well  of  the  condition  of  those  who 
have  departed.  It  matters  little,  apparently, 
how  a  man  has  lived.  He  may  have  given  no 
signs  of  repentance,  or  faith  in  Christ.  He 
may  have  been  ignorant  of  the  plan  of  salva- 
tion, set  forth  in  the  gospel.  He  may  have 
shown  no  evidence  whatever  of  conversion  or 
sanctification.  He  may  have  lived  and  died, 
like  a  creature  without  a  soul.  And  yet,  as 
soon  as  this  man  is  dead,  people  will  dare  to 
say,  that  he  is  "  probably  happier  than  ever  he 
was  in  this  life."  They  will  tell  you  compla- 
cently, they    "hope  he   is  gone  to  a  better 


.-J 


world."  They  will  shake  their  heads  gravely, 
and  say,  they  "  hope  he  is  in  heaven."  They 
will  follow  him  to  the  grave  without  fear  and 
trembling,  and  speak  of  his  death  afterwards, 
as  *'  a  blessed  change  for  him."  I  have  no 
wish  to  hurt  any  one's  feelings.  I  only  ask 
any  one,  who  knows  the  world, — is  it  not  all 
true? 

And  what  does  it  all  prove?  Itjustsup» 
plies  one  more  awful  proof,  that  men  are  deter- 
mined to  believe  it  is  an  easy  business  to  get 
to  heaven.  Men  will  have  it,  that  most  per- 
sons are  saved. 

But  again,  what  do  men  generally  think  of 
ministers  who  preach  fully  the  doctrines  of  the 
New  Testament?  Let  us  just  see  how  this 
question  can  be  answered. 

Send  a  man  into  a  parish  who  shall  declare 
all  the  counsel  of  God,  and  keep  back  nothing 
that  is  profitable.  Let  him  be  one,  who  shall 
clearly  proclaim  justification  by  faith, — regen- 
eration by  the  Spirit, — and  holiness  of  life. 
Let  him  be  one,  who  shall  draw  the  line  dis- 
tinctly between  the  converted  and  the  uncon- 


verted,  and  give  both  to  sinners  and  to  saints 
their  portion.  Let  him  produce  out  of  the 
New  Testament  a  plain,  unanswerable,  unmis- 
takable description  of  the  true  Christian's 
character.  Let  him  show  that  no  man  who 
does  not  possess  that  character,  can  have  any 
reasonable  hope  of  being  saved.  Let  him 
press  that  description  closely  on  the  con- 
sciences of  his  hearers,  and  urge  upon  them 
repeatedly,  that  every  soul  who  dies  without 
that  character  will  be  lost.  Let  him  do  this, 
ably  and  affectionately,  and,  after  all,  what 
will  the  result  be? 

The  result  will  be  that,  while  some  repent 
and  are  saved,  the  great  majority  of  his  hear- 
ers will  not  receive  and  believe  his  doctrine. 
They  may  not  oppose  him  publicly.  They 
may  even  esteem  him,  and  respect  him  as  an 
earnest,  sincere,  kind-hearted  man.  But  they 
will  go  no  further.  He  may  show  them  the 
express  words  of  Christ  and  his  apostles.  He 
may  quote  text  upon  text,  and  passage  upon 
passage.  It  will  be  to  no  purpose.  The  great 
majority  of  his  hearers  will  think  him  ''too 


J 


106  "  SHALL   YOU   BE  'SAVED  ?" 

strict,"  and  "too  close,"  and  "too  particular." 
They  will  saj  among  themselves,  that  the 
world  is  not  so  bad  as  the  minister  seems  to 
think, — and  that  the  people  cannot  be  so  good 
as  the  minister  v/ants  them  to  be, — and  that 
after  all  they  hope  they  shall  be  all  right  at 
the  last.  I  appeal  to  any  minister  of  the  Gos- 
pel, who  has  been  any  length  of  time  in  the 
ministry,  whether  I  am  not  stating  the  truth. 
Are  not  these  things  so  ? 

And  what  does  it  all  prove  ?  It  just  makes 
one  more  proof  that  men,  generally,  are  re- 
solved to  think  that  salvation  is  not  a  very 
hard  business,  and  that,  after  all,  most  people 
will  be  saved. 

But  what  solid  reason  can  men  show  us  for 
these  common  opinions  ?  Upon  what  Scrip- 
ture do  they  build  this  notion,  that  salvation 
is  an  easy  business,  and  that  most  people  will 
be  saved?  What  revelation  of  God  can  they 
show  us,  to  satisfy  us  that  these  opinions  are 
sound  and  true  ? 

They  have  none,  —  literally  none  at  all. 
They  have  not  a  text  of  Scripture,   which 


1 


"shall  you  be  saved"?"  107 

fairly  interpreted,  supports  their  views.  They 
have  not  a  reason  which  will  bear  examina- 
tion. They  speak  smooth  things  about  one 
another's  spiritual  state,  just  because  they  do 
not  like  to  allow  there  is  danger.  They  cry 
peace,  peace,  over  one  another's  graves,  be- 
cause they  want  it  to  be  so,  and  would  fain 
persuade  themselves  that  so  it  is.  Surely 
against  such  hollow,  foundationless  opinions 
as  these,  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  may  well 
protest. 

Take  notice,  reader,  that  the  world's  opinion 
is  worth  nothing  in  matters  of  religion.  About 
the  price  of  an  ox  or  a  horse,  or  the  value  of 
labor, — about  wages,  and  work, — about  money 
and  corn, — about  all  such  things,  the  men  of 
the  world  may  give  a  correct  opinion.  But 
beware,  if  you  love  life,  of  being  guided  by 
man's  judgment,  in  the  things  that  concern 
salvation.  "  The  natural  man  receiveth  not 
the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  they  are 
foolishness  unto  him."     (1  Cor.  ii.  14.) 

Take  notice,  above  all,  that  it  never  will  do 
to  think  as  others  do,  if  you  want  to  get  to 


heaven.  No  doubt  it  is  easy  work  to  go  with 
the  crowd  in  religious  matters.  It  will  save 
you  much  trouble  to  swim  with  the  tide.  You 
will  be  spared  much  ridicule.  You  will  be 
freed  from  much  unpleasantness.  But,  re- 
member, once  for  all,  that  the  world's  mis- 
takes about  salvation  are  many,  and  danger- 
ous. Be  ver}^  sure,  that  unless  you  are  on 
your  guard  against  them,  you  will  never  be 
saved. 

And  now,  reader,  I  press  my  question  once 
more  on  your  attention, — SHALL  YOU  BE 
SAVED  ? 

IIL  Let  me  show  you,  in  the  third  place, 
luhat  the  Bible  says  about  the  number  of  the  saved. 

There  is  only  one  standard  of  truth  and  er- 
ror, to  which  you  and  I  ought  to  appeal.  That 
standard  is  the  Holy  Scripture.  Whatsoever 
is  there  written,  vou  and  I  must  receive  and 
believe.  Whatsoever  cannot  be  proved  by 
Scripture,  joxi.  and  I  ought  to  refuse. 

Reader,  can  you  subscribe  to  this  ?  If  you 
cannot,  there  is  little  chance  of  your  being 


_J 


n" 


"shall  you  be  saved?"  109 

moved  by  any  tract  of  mine.  If  you  can,  give 
me  your  attention  for  a  few  moments,  and  I 
will  tell  you  some  solemn  things. 

Look,  then,  for  one  thing,  at  one  single  text 
of  Scripture,  and  examine  it  well.  You  will 
find  it  in  Matthew,  vii.  13,  14 : — ''  Enter  ye  in 
at  the  strait  gate :  for  wide  is  the  gate,  and 
broad  is  the  way  that  leadeth  to  destruction, 
and  many  there  be  which  go  in  thereat.  Be- 
cause strait  is  the  gate,  and  narrow  is  the  way 
that  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that 
find  it."  Now  these  are  the  words  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  They  are  the  words  of 
Him,  who  was  very  God,  and  whose  words 
shall  never  pass  away.  They  are  the  words 
of  Him,  who  knew  what  was  in  man, — who 
knew  things  to  come,  and  things  past, — who 
knew  that  He  should  judge  all  men  at  the  last 
day.  And  what  do  those  words  mean  ?  Are 
they  words  which  no  man  can  understand, 
without  a  knowledge  of  Hebrew  or  Greek? 
No !  they  are  not.  Are  they  a  dark,.unfulfill- 
ed  prophecy  ?  No  !  they  are  not.  Are  they 
a  deep,  mysterious  saying,  which  no  human 


110  "shall  you  be  saved?" 

intellect  can  fathom  ?  No !  they  are  not. 
The  words  are  clear,  plain,  and  unmistakable. 
Ask  any  laboring  man,  who  can  read,  and  he 
will  tell  you  so.  There  is  only  one  meaning 
which  can  be  attached  to  them.  Their  mean- 
ing is,  that  many  people  will  be  lost,  and  few 
will  be  found  saved. 

Look,  in  the  next  place,  at  the  whole  history 
of  mankind  as  respects  religion,  as  you  have 
it  given  in  the  Bible.  Go  through  the  whole 
four  thousand  years,  over  which  the  history 
of  the  Bible  reaches.  Show  me,  if  you  can, 
one  single  period  of  time,  at  which  godly  peo- 
ple were  many,  and  ungodly  people  were  few. 

How  was  it  in  the  days  of  ISToah  ?  The 
earth,  we  are  told  expressly  was  "filled  with 
violence."  The  imagination  of  man's  heart 
was  only  "  evil  continually."  All  flesh  had 
''  corrupted  his  way."  The  loss  of  paradise 
was  forgotten.  The  warnings  of  God,  by 
Noah's  mouth,  were  despised.  And,  at  length, 
when  the  flood  came  on  the  world,  and  drowned 
every  living  thing,  there  were  but  eight  people 
who  had  had  faith  enough  to  flee  for  refuge 


"shall  you  be  saved?"  Ill 

to  the  ark.  And  were  there  many  saved  in 
those  days  ?  Let  any  honest  reader  of  the 
Bible  give  an  answer  to  that  question.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  what  the  answer  must  be. 

How  was  it  in  the  days  of  Abraham,  and 
Isaac,  and  Lot?  It  is  evident,  that  in  the 
matter  of  religion,  they  stood  very  much 
alone.  The  family  from  which  they  were  ta- 
ken, was  a  family  of  idolaters.  The  nations 
among  whom  they  lived,  were  sunk  in  gross 
darkness  and  sin.  When  Sodom  and  Gomor- 
rah were  burned,  there  were  not  five  righteous 
people  to  be  found  in  the  four  cities  of  the 
plain.  When  Abraham  and  Isaac  desired  to 
find  wives  for  their  sons,  there  was  not  a  wo- 
man in  the  land  where  they  sojourned,  to 
whom  they  could  wish  to  see  them  married. 
And  were  there  many  saved  in  those  days  ? 
Let  any  honest  reader  of  the  Bible  give  an 
answer  to  that  question.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  what  the  answer  must  be. 

How  was  it  with  Israel,  in  the  days  of  tbe 
Judges  ?  No  one  can  read  the  book  of  Judges 
and  not  be  struck  with  the  sad  examples  of 


.-] 


man's  corruption  wliich  it  affords.  Time  after 
time  we  are  told  of  the  people  forsaking  God, 
and  following  idols.  In  spite  of  the  plainest 
warnings,  they  joined  af&nity  with  the  Canaan- 
ites,  and  learned  their  works.  Time  after  time 
we  read  of  their  being  oppressed  by  foreign 
kings,  because  of  their  sin,  and  then  miracu- 
lously delivered.  Time  after  time  we  read  of 
the  deliverance  being  forgotten,  and  of  the 
people  returning  to  their  former  sins,  like  the 
sow  that  is  washed  to  her  wallowing  in  the 
mire.  And  were  there  many  saved  in  those 
days?  Let  any  honest  reader  of  the  Bible 
give  an  answer  to  that  question.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  what  the  answer  must  be. 

How  was  it  with  Israel  in  the  days  of  the 
kings?  From  Saul,  the  first  king,  down  to 
Zedekiah,  the  last  king,  their  history  is  a  mel- 
ancholy account  of  backsliding,  and  declen- 
sion, and  idolatry, — with  a  few  bright  excep- 
tional periods.  Even  under  the  best  kings, 
there  seems  to  have  been  a  vast  amount  of 
unbelief  and  ungodliness,  which  only  lay  hid 
for  a  season,  and  burst  out  at  the  first  favora- 


♦t- 


"  SHALL   YOU  BE   SAVED?"  113 


L. 


ble  opportunity.     Over  and  over  again,  we 
find,  that  under  the  most  zealous  kings,  "  the 
high  places  were   not  taken  away."     Mark 
how  even  David  speaks  of  the  state  of  things 
around  him  :  "  Help,  Lord,  for  the  godly  man 
ceaseth  ;  for  the  faithful  fail  from  among  the 
children  of  men."  (Psalm  xii.  1.)     Mark  how 
Isaiah  describes  the  condition  of  Judah  and 
Jerusalem  :— "  The  whole  head  is  sick,  and 
the  whole  heart  faint.     From  the  sole  of  the 
foot,  even  unto  the  crown  of  the  head,  there 
is  no  soundness  in  it."     "Except  the  Lord  of 
hosts  had  left  unto  us  a  very  small  remnant, 
we  should  have  been  as  Sodom,  and  should 
have  been  like  unto  Gomorrah."  (Isa.  i.  5—9.) 
Mark  how  Jeremiah  describes  his  times:— 
"  Kun  ye  to  and  fro  through  the  streets  of  Je- 
rusalem, and  see  now  and  learn,  and  seek  in 
the  broad  places  thereof,  if  ye  can  find  a  man, 
if  there  be  any  that  executeth  judgment,  that 
seeketh  the  truth,  and  I  will  pardon  it."  (Jer. 
V.  1.)     Mark  how  Ezekiel  speaks  of  the  men 
of  his  times  :— "  The  word  of  the  Lord  came 
unto  me,  saying,  Son  of  man,  the  house  of  Is- 

8 


114  "shall  you  be  saved?" 

rael  is  to  me  become  dross  :  all  they  are  brass 
and  tin  and  lead  in  the  midst  of  the  furnace  : 
they  are  even  the  dross  of  silver."  (Ezek.  xxii. 
17,  18).  Mark  what  he  says  in  the  sixteenth 
and  twenty-third  chapters  of  his  prophecy, 
about  the  kingdoms  of  Judah  and  Israel. 
And  were  there  many  saved  in  those  days  ? 
Let  any  honest  reader  of  the  Bible  give  an  an- 
swer to  that  question.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
what  the  answer  must  be. 

How  was  it  with  the  Jews,  when  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  was  on  earth?  The  words  of 
Saint  John  are  the  best  account  of  their  spir- 
itual state  : — "  He  came  unto  his  own,  and  his 
own  received  him  not."  (John,  i.  11.)  He  lived 
as  no  one  born  of  woman  had  ever  lived  be- 
fore,— a  blameless,  harmless,  holy  life.  He 
went  about  doing  good.  He  preached  as  no 
one  ever  preached  before.  Even  the  officers 
of  his  enemies  confessed,  "  never  man  spake 
like  this  man."  He  did  miracles  to  confirm 
His  ministry ;  which,  at  first  sight,  we  might 
have  fancied  would  have  convinced  the  most 
hardened.     But  notwithstanding  all  this,  the 


'•SHALL   YOU   BE   SAVED?"  115 

vast  majority  of  the  Jews  refused  to  believe 
Him.  Follow  our  Lord  in  all  his  travels  over 
Palestine,  and  you  will  always  find  the  same 
story.  Follow  Him  into  the  city,  and  follow 
Him  into  the  wilderness.  Follow  Him  to  Ca- 
pernaum, and  Nazareth,  and  follow  Him  to 
Jerusalem.  Follow  Him  among  Scribes  and 
Pharisees,  and  follow  Him  among  Sadducees 
and  Herodians. — Everywhere,  you  will  arrive 
at  the  same  result.  They  were  amazed — they 
were  silenced — they  were  astonished — they 
wondered — but  very  few  became  disciples. 
The  immense  proportion  of  the  nation  would 
have  none  of  His  doctrine,  and  crowned  all 
their  wickedness  by  putting  Him  to  death. 
And  were  there  many  saved  in  those  days  ? 
Let  any  honest  reader  of  the  Bible  give  an 
answer  to  that  question.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  what  the  answer  must  be. 

How  was  it  with  the  world  in  the  days  of 
the  apostles  ?  If  ever  there  was  a  period  when 
true  religion  flourished,  it  was  then.  Never 
did  the  Holy  Ghost  call  into  the  fold  of  Christ 
so  many  souls  in   the  same  space  of  time. 


Never  w^re  there  so  many  conversions,  under 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  as  when  Paul  and 
his  fellow-laborers  were  the  preachers.  Bat 
still,  it  is  plain  from  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
that  true  Christianity  was  "a  way  everywhere 
spoken  against."  It  is  evident  that  in  every 
city,  even  in  Jerusalem  itself,  true  Christians 
were  a  small  minority.  We  read  of  perils  of 
all  kinds  which  the  apostles  had  to  go  through, 
— not  only  perils  from  without,  but  perils  from 
within, — not  only  perils  from  the  heathen,  but 
perils  from  false  brethren.  We  hardly  read 
of  a  single  city  visited  by  Paul,  where  he  was 
not  in  danger  from  open  violence  and  perse- 
cution. We  see  plainly,  by  some  of  his  epis- 
tles, that  the  professing  churches  were  mixed 
bodies,  in  which  there  were  many  rotten  mem- 
bers. We  find  him  telling  the  Philippians  a 
painful  part  of  his  experience  ; — "Many  walk, 
of  whom  I  tell  you,  even  weeping,  that  they 
are  the  enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ :  whose 
end  is  destruction,  whose  god  is  their  belly, 
and  whose  glory  is  their  shame,  who  mind 
earthly  things."     And  were  there  many  saved 


"shall  you  be  saved?"  117 

in  those  days?  Let  any  honest  reader  of  the 
Bible  give  an  answer  to  that  question.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  what  that  answer  must  be. 

And  now,  reader,  I  entreat  you  to  weigh 
well  the  lessons  of  the  Bible  which  I  have 
just  brought  forward.  Believe  me,  they  are 
weighty  and  solemn,  and  deserve  serious  at- 
tention. 

Think  not  to  evade  their  force,  by  saying 
that  the  Bible  only  tells  the  story  of  the  Jews. 
Think  not  to  comfort  yourself,  by  saying  that, 
perhaps  the  Jews  were  more  wicked  than  other 
nations,  and  that  many  people  were  probably 
saved  among  other  nations,  though  few  were 
saved  among  the  Jews.  You  forget  that  this 
argument  tells  against  you.  You  forget  that 
the  Jews  had  light  and  privileges  which  the 
Gentiles  had  not,  and,  with  all  their  sins  and 
faults,  were  probably  the  holiest  and  most 
moral  nation  upon  earth.  As  to  the  state  of 
people  among  the  Assyrians,  and  Egyptians, 
and  Greeks,  and  Eomans,  it  is  awful  to  think 
what  it  must  have  been.  But  this  we  may  be 
sure  of,  that  if  many  were  ungodly  among  the 


Jews,  the  number  was  far  greater  among  the 
Gentiles.  If  few  were  saved  in  the  green  tree, 
alas  !  how  much  fewer  must  have  been  saved 
in  the  dry. 

Take  notice,  once  for  all,  that  the  Bible  and 
the  men  of  the  world  speak  very  differently 
about  the  number  of  the  saved.  According 
to  the  Bible,  few  will  be  saved.  According  to 
the  men  of  the  world,  m.any.  According  to 
the  men  of  the  world,  few  are  going  to  hell. 
According  to  the  Bible,  few  are  going  to  hea- 
ven. According  to  the  men  of  the  world, 
salvation  is  an  easy  business.  According  to 
the  Bible,  the  way  is  narrow,  and  the  gate  is 
strait.  According  to  the  men  of  the  world, 
few  will  be  found  at  last  seeking  admission 
into  heaven  when  too  late.  According  to  the 
Bible,  many  will  be  in  that  sad  condition,  and 
will  cry  in  vain,  Lord,  Lord,  open  to  us.  Head- 
er, the  Bible  was  never  wrong  yet.  The  most 
unlikely  and  improbable  prophecies  about 
Tyre,  Egypt,  Babylon,  and  Nineveh,  have  all 
come  true  to  the  letter.  And  as  in  other  mat- 
ters, so  it  will  be  about  the  number  of  the 


saved.     The  Bible  will  prove  quite  right,  and 
the  men  of  the  world  quite  wrong. 

And  now,  Reader,  consider  once  more  my 
question;— SHALL  YOU  BE  SAVED? 

TV.  Let  me  show  you^  in  the  last  place ^  some 
plain  facts  about  the  number  of  the  saved. 

I  ask  the  reader's  particular  attention  to 
this  part  of  the  subject.  I  know  well  that 
people  flatter  themselves,  that  the  world  is 
far  better  and  wiser  than  it  was  1800  years 
ago.  We  have  churches,  and  schools,  and 
books.  We  have  civilization,  and  liberty,  and 
good  laws.  We  have  a  far  higher  standard  of 
morality  in  society,  than  that  which  once 
prevailed.  We  have  the  power  of  obtaining 
comforts  and  enjoyments,  which  our  fore- 
fathers knew  nothing  of.  Steam,  and  gas, 
and  electricity,  and  chemistry,  have  effected 
wonders  for  us.  All  this  is  perfectly  true. 
I  see  it  and  am  thankful.  But  all  this  does 
not  diminish  the  importance  of  the  question 
are  there  few  or  many  of  us  likely  to  be  saved  f 

I^am  thoroughly  satisfied,  that  the  import- 


122  "shall  you  be  saved?'- 

ances,  and  found  wanting.  Let  us  apply  this 
sifting  process  to  any  parish  in  this  land,  and 
see  what  the  result  would  be. 

Let  us  set  aside  first  of  all  those  persons  in 
a  parish  who  are  living  in  any  hind  of  open  sin. 
By  these  I  mean  such  as  fornicators,  and  adul- 
terers, and  liars,  and  thieveS;  and  drunkards, 
and  cheats,  and  revilers,  and  extortioners. 
About  these  I  think  there  can  be  no  differ- 
ence of  opinion.  The  Bible  says  plainly,  that 
"  they  which  do  such  things,  shall  not  inherit 
the  kingdom  of  God."  Now,  will  these  per- 
sons be  saved  ?  The  answer  is  clear  to  my 
own  mind, — in  their  present  condition  they 
will  not. 

Let  us  set  aside,  in  the  next  place,  those 
persons  who  are  Sabbath-hreakers.  I  mean  by 
this  expression,  those  who  seldom  or  never 
go  to  a  place  of  worship,  though  they  have 
the  power, — those  who  do  not  give  the  Sab- 
bath to  God,  but  to  themselves, — those  who 
thing  of  nothing  but  doing  their  own  ways 
and  finding  their  own  pleasure  upon  Sundays. 
They  show  plainly,  that  they  are  not  meet 


for  heaven.  The  inhabitants  of  heaven  would 
,be  company  they  could  not  like.  The  em- 
ployment of  heaven  would  be  a  weariness  to 
them,  and  not  a  joy.  Now  will  these  persons 
be  saved?  The  answer  is  clear  to  my  own 
mind, — in  their  present  condition  they  will 
not. 

Let  us  set  aside,  in  the  next  place,  all  those 
persons  who  are  careless  and  thoughtless  Chris- 
tians. I  mean  by  this  expression,  those  who 
attend  many  of  the  outward  ordinances  of 
religion,  but  show  no  signs  of  taking  any  real 
interest  in  its  doctrine  and  substance.  They 
care  little  whether  the  minister  preaches  the 
Gospel  or  not.  They  care  little  whether  they 
hear  a  good  sermon  or  not.  They  would  care 
little  if  all  the  Bibles  in  the  world  were 
burned.  They  would  care  little  if  an  Act  of 
Parliament  were  passed  forbidding  any  one  to 
pray.  In  short,  religion  is  not  the  "  one  thing 
needful"  with  them.  Their  treasure  is  on 
earth.  They  are  just  like  Gallio,  to  whom  it 
mattered  little  whether  people  were  Jews  or 
Christians: — he  ''cared    for  none    of   these 


122  "shall  yoij  be  saved?'-' 

ances,  and  found  wanting.  Let  us  apply  this 
sifting  process  to  any  parish  in  this  land,  and 
see  what  the  result  would  be. 

Let  us  set  aside  first  of  all  those  persons  in 
a  parish  who  are  living  in  any  kind  of  open  sin. 
By  these  I  mean  such  as  fornicators,  and  adul- 
terers, and  liars,  and  thieves,  and  drunkards, 
and  cheats,  and  revilers,  and  extortioners. 
About  these  I  think  there  can  be  no  differ- 
ence of  opinion.  The  Bible  says  plainly,  that 
"  they  which  do  such  things,  shall  not  inherit 
the  kingdom  of  God."  Now,  will  these  per- 
sons be  saved  ?  The  answer  is  clear  to  my 
own  mind, — in  their  present  condition  they 
will  not. 

Let  us  set  aside,  in  the  next  place,  those 
persons  who  are  Sabhatli-hreakers.  I  mean  by 
this  expression,  those  who  seldom  or  never 
go  to  a  place  of  worship,  though  they  have 
the  power, — those  who  do  not  give  the  Sab- 
bath to  God,  but  to  themselves, — those  who 
thing  of  nothing  but  doing  their  own  ways 
and  finding  their  own  pleasure  upon  Sundays. 
They  show  plainly,  that  they  are  not  meet 


for  heaven.  The  inhabitants  of  heaven  would 
be  company  they  could  not  like.  The  em- 
ployment of  heaven  would  be  a  weariness  to 
them,  and  not  a  joy.  Now  will  these  persons 
be  saved?  The  answer  is  clear  to  my  own 
mind, — in  their  present  condition  they  will 
not. 

Let  us  set  aside,  in  the  next  place,  all  those 
persons  who  are  careless  and  thoughtless  Chris- 
tians, I  mean  by  this  expression,  those  who 
attend  many  of  the  outward  ordinances  of 
rehgion,  but  show  no  signs  of  taking  any  real 
interest  in  its  doctrine  and  substance.  They 
care  little  whether  the  minister  preaches  the 
Gospel  or  not.  They  care  little  whether  they 
hear  a  good  sermon  or  not.  They  would  care 
little  if  all  the  Bibles  in  the  world  were 
burned.  They  would  care  little  if  an  Act  of 
Parliament  were  passed  forbidding  any  one  to 
pray.  In  short,  religion  is  not  the  "  one  thing 
needful"  with  them.  Their  treasure  is  on 
earth.  They  are  just  like  Gallio,  to  whom  it 
mattered  little  whether  people  were  Jews  or 
Christians  : — he  "  cared    for   none    of   these 


124  "shall  you  be  saved?" 

things."  Now  will  these  persons  be  saved  ? 
The  answer  is  clear  to  my  own  mind, — in 
their  present  condition  they  will  not. 

Let  us  set  aside,  in  the  next  place,  all  those 
who  are  formalists  and  self-righteous.  I  mean 
by  this  expression,  those  who  value  them- 
selves on  their  own  regularity  in  the  use  of 
the  forms  of  Christianity,  and  depend  either 
directly  or  indirectly  on  their  own  doings  for 
their  acceptance  with  God.  I  mean  all  who 
rest  their  souls  on  any  work  but  the  work  of 
Christ, — or  any  righteousness  but  the  right- 
eousness of  Christ.  Of  such  the  Apostle 
Paul  has  expressly  testified,  "  by  the  deeds  of 
the  law  shall  no  flesh  living  be  justified." 
"  Other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that 
is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ."  And  dare  we 
say,  in  the  face  of  such  texts,  that  such  as 
these  will  be  saved  ?  The  answer  is  plain  to 
my  own  mind, — in  their  present  condition 
they  will  not. 

Let  us  set  aside,  in  the  next  place,  all  those 
who  know  the  Gospel  with  their  heads,  but  do 
not  obey  it  luith  their  hearts.     These  are  those 


"shall  tou  be  saved?"  125 

unhappy  persons  who  have  eyes  to  see  the 
way  of  life,  but  have  not  will  or  courage  to 
walk  in  it.  They  approve  sound  doctrine. 
They  will  not  listen  to  preaching  which  does 
not  contain  it.  But  the  fear  of  man,  or  the 
cares  of  the  world,  or  the  love  of  money,  or 
the  dread  of  offending  relations,  perpetually 
holds  them  back.  They  will  not  come  out 
boldly,  and  take  up  the  cross,  and  confess 
Christ  before  men.  Of  these  also  the  Bible 
speaks  expressly  ;  "  Faith  if  it  hath  not  works 
is  dead,  being  alone."  "  To  him  that  knoweth 
to  do  good,  and  doeth  it  not,  to  him  it  is  sin. " 
"  If  any  man  is  ashamed  of  me  in  this  gene- 
ration, of  him  will  the  Son  of  man  be  ashamed 
when  He  cometh  in  the  glory  of  His  Father, 
with  the  holy  angels."  Shall  we  say  that 
such  as  these  will  be  saved  ?  The  answer  is 
clear  to  my  own  mind, — in  their  present  con- 
dition they  will  not. 

Let  us  set  aside,  in  the  last  place,  all  those 
who  are  hypocritical  professors.  I  mean  by 
that  expression,  all  those  whose  religion  con- 
sists  in    talk   and  high    profession,  and    in 


nothing  besides.  These  are  they  of  whom  the 
prophet  Ezekiel  speaks,  saying,  "  with  their 
mouth  they  show  much  love,  but  their  heart 
goeth  after  their  covetousness."  They  pro- 
fess that  they  know  God,  but  in  works  they 
deny  him.  They  have  a  form  of  godliness, 
but  they  have  not  the  power  of  it.  They  are 
saints  at  church,  and  saints  to  talk  to  in  pub- 
lic. But  they  are  not  saints  in  private,  and 
worst  of  all,  they  are  not  saints  in  heart. 
There  can  be  no  dispute  about  such  persons. 
Shall  we  say  that  they  will  be  saved  ?  There 
can  only  be  one  answer, — in  their  present 
condition  they  will  not. 

And  now,  reader,  after  setting  aside  these 
classes  which  I  have  described,  I  ask  you,  how 
many  persons  in  any  parish  in  England  will 
there  be  left  behind  ?  How  many  after  sifting 
a  parish  thoroughly  and  honestly, — how  many 
men  and  women  will  remain  who  are  in  the 
way  to  be  saved  ?  How  many  true  penitents, 
— how  many  real  believers  in  Christ, — how 
many  truly  holy  people  will  there  be  found  ? 
I  put  it  to  your  conscience  to  give  an  honest 


"shall  you  be  saved  ?'^  127 

answer,  as  in  the  sight  of  God.  I  ask  you 
whether  after  sifting  a  parish  with  the  Bible 
in  the  fashion  described,  you  can  come  to  any 
conclusion  but  this, — that  few  persons, — 
■sadly  few  persons, — are  in  a  way  to  be  saved. 

It  is  a  painful  conclusion  to  arrive  at,  but  I 
know  not  how  it  can  be  avoided.  It  is  a  fear- 
ful and  tremendous  thought,  that  there  should 
be  so  many  churchmen  in  England,  and  so 
many  dissenters. — so  many  seat-holders  and  so 
many  pew  renters, — so  many  hearers  and  so 
many  communicants,— -and  yet,  after  all,  so 
few  in  a  way  to  be  saved.  But  the  only  ques- 
tion is,  is  it  not  true  ?  It  is  vain  to  shut  our 
eyes  against  facts.  It  is  useless  to  pretend  not 
to  see  what  is  going  on  around  us.  The  state- 
ment of  the  Bible,  and  the  facts  in  the  world 
we  live  in,  will  lead  us  to  the  same  con- 
clusion,— many  are  being  lost,  and  few  being 
saved. 

I  know  well  that  many  do  not  believe  what 
I  am  saying,  because  they  think  there  is  an 
immense  quantity  of  death-bed  repentances. 
They  flatter  themselves  that  multitudes,  who 


do  not  live  religious  lives,  will  yet  die  reli- 
gious deaths.  They  take  comfort  in  the 
thought,  that  vast  numbers  of  persons  turn  to 
God  in  their  last  illness,  and  are  saved  at  the 
eleventh  hour.  I  will  only  remind  such  per- 
sons, that  all  the  experience  of  ministers  is  ut- 
terly against  the  theory.  People  generally 
die  just  as  they  have  lived.  True  repentance 
is  never  too  late  ; — ^but  repentance  deferred  to 
the  last  hours  of  life  is  seldom  true.  A  man's 
life  is  the  surest  evidence  of  his  spiritual  state, 
and  if  lives  are  to  be  witnesses,  then  few  are 
likely  to  be  saved. 

I  know  well  that  many  do  not  believe  what 
I  am  saying,  because  they  fancy  it  contradicts 
the  tnercy  of  God.  They  dwell  on  the  love 
to  sinners,  which  the  Gospel  reveals.  They 
point  to  the  offers  of  pardon  and  forgiveness, 
which  abound  in  the  Bible.  They  ask  us  if 
we  maintain,  in  the  face  of  all  this,  that  only 
few  people  will  be  saved.  I  answer,  I  will  go 
as  far  as  any  one  in  exalting  God's  mercy  in 
Christ,  but  I  cannot  shut  my  eyes  against  the 
fact,  that  this  mercy  profits  no  man,  so  long 


"shall  you  be  saved?"  129 

as  it  is  wilfully  refused.  I  see  nothing  want- 
ing, on  God's  part,  for  man's  salvation.  I  see 
room  in  heaven  for  the  chief  of  sinners.  I  see 
willingness  in  Christ  to  receive  the  most  un- 
godly. I  see  power  in  the  Holy  Ghost  to  re- 
new the  most  ungodly.  But  I  see,  on  the 
other  hand,  deperate  unbelief  in  man  :  he  will 
not  believe  what  God  tells  him  in  the  Bible. 
I  see  desperate  pride  in  man : — he  will  not 
bow  his  heart  to  receive  the  Gospel  as  a  little 
child.  I  see  desperate  sloth  in  man  : — he  will 
not  take  the  trouble  to  arise  and  call  upon 
God.  I  see  desperate  worldliness  in  man : — 
he  will  not  loose  his  hold  on  the  poor  perish- 
able things  of  time,  and  consider  eternity.  In 
short,  see  the  words  of  our  Lord  continually 
verified  : — "  Ye  will  not  come  unto  me,  that  ye 
might  have  life, "  and  therefore  I  am  driven  to 
the  sorrowful  conclusion,  that  few  are  likely 
to  be  saved. 

I  know  well  that  many  will  not  believe 
what  I  am  saying,  because  they  refuse  to  ob- 
serve the  evil  there  is  in  the  world.  They 
live  in  the  midst  of  a  little  circle  of  good  peo- 

9 


130  "shall  you  be  saved?" 

pie.  They  know  little  of  anything  that  goes 
on  in  the  world  outside  that  circle.  They  tell 
lis  the  world  is  a  world  which  is  rapidly  im- 
proving and  going  on  to  perfection.  They 
count  upon  their  fingers  the  number  of  good 
ministers  whom  they  have  heard  and  seen  in 
the  last  year.  They  call  our  attention  to  the 
number  of  religious  societies,  and  religious 
meetings,  to  the  money  which  is  subscribed, 
to  the  Bibles  and  tracts  which  are  being  con- 
stantly distributed.  They  ask  us,  if  we  really 
dare  to  say,  in  the  face  of  all  this,  that  few  are 
in  the  way  to  be  saved.  In  reply,  I  will  only 
remind  these  amiable  people,  that  there  are 
other  people  in  the  world  besides  their  own 
little  circle,  and  other  men  and  women,  be- 
sides the  chosen  few  whom  they  know  in  their 
own  congregation.  I  entreat  them  to  open 
their  eyes,  and  see  things  as  they  really  are.  I 
assure  them,  there  are  things  in  this  country 
of  ours  of  which  they  are  at  present  in  happy 
ignorance.  I  ask  them  to  sift  any  parish  or 
congregation  in  England,  with  the  Bible,  be- 
fore they  condemn  me  hastily.     I  tell  them,  if 


they  will  do  this  honestly,  they  will  soon  find 
that  I  am  not  far  wrong,  when  I  say,  that  few 
are  likely  to  be  saved. 

I  know  well  that  many  will  not  believe  me, 
because  they  think  such  a  doctrine  very  nar- 
row-minded and  exclusive.  I  utterly  deny 
the  charge.  I  disclaim  any  sympathy  with 
those  Christians,  who  condemn  everybody  out- 
side their  communion,  and  appear  to  shut  the 
door  of  heaven  against  everybody  who  does 
not  see  everything  with  their  eyes.  Whether 
Roman  Catholic,  or  Episcopalians,  or  Free- 
churchmen,  or  Baptists,  whosoever  does  any- 
thing of  this  kind,  I  reckon  him  an  exclusive 
man.  I  have  no  desire  to  shut  up  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  against  any  one.  All  I  say  is, 
that  none  will  enter  that  kingdom,  except  con- 
verted, believing,  and  holy  souls, — and  all  I 
take  on  me  to  assert  is,  that  both  the  Bible 
and  facts  combine  to  prove  that  such  persons 
are  few. 

I  know  well  that  many  will  not  believe 
what  I  am  saying,  because  they  think  it  a 
gloomy,  uncharitable  doctrine.     It  is  easy  to 


132  "shall  you  be  saved?" 

make  vague  general  assertions  of  this  kind. 
It  is  not  so  easy  to  show  that  any  doctrine  de- 
serves to  be  called  gloomy  and  uncharitable 
which  is  scriptural  and  true.  There  is  a  spu- 
rious charity,  I  am  aware,  which  dislikes  all 
strong  statements  in  religion, — a  charity  which 
would  have  no  one  interfered  with, — a  charity 
which  would  have  every  one  let  alone  in  his 
sins, — a  charity  which,  without  evidence, 
takes  for  granted  that  everybody  is  in  a  way 
to  be  saved, — a  charity  which  never  doubts 
that  all  people  are  going  to  heaven,  and  seems 
to  deny  the  existence  of  such  a  place  as  hell. 
But  such  charity  is  not  the  charity  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  does  not  deserve  the  name. 
Give  me  the  charity  which  tries  everything  by 
the  light  of  the  Bible,  and  believes  nothing, 
and  hopes  nothing,  that  is  not  sanctioned  by 
the  Word.  Give  me  the  charity  which  is  not 
blind,  and  deaf,  and  stupid,  but  has  eyes  to 
see,  and  senses  to  discern,  between  him  that 
feareth  God,  and  him  that  feareth  him  not. 
Such  charity  will  rejoice  in  nothing  but  the 
truth,  and  will  confess  with  sorrow,  that  I  tell 


"shall  you  be  saved?"  133 

nothing  but  the  truth,  when  I  say  that  few  are 
likely  to  be  saved. 

I  know  well  that  many  will  not  believe  me, 
because  they  think  it  presumptuous  to  have 
any  opinion  at  all  about  the  number  of  the 
saved.  But  will  these  people  dare  to  tell  us 
that  the  Bible  has  not  spoken  plainly  as  to  the 
character  of  saved  souls  ?  And  will  they  dare 
to  say  that  there  is  any  standard  of  truth  ex- 
cept the  Bible  ?  Surely  there  can  be  no  pre- 
sumption in  asserting  that  which  is  agreeable 
to  the  Bible.  I  tell  them  plainly,  that  the 
charge  of  presumption  does  not  lie  at  my  door. 
I  say  that  he  is  the  truly  presumptuous  man 
who,  when  the  Bible  has  said  a  thing  clearly 
and  unmistakeably,  refuses  to  receive  it. 

I  know  well  that  many  will  not  believe  me, 
because  they  think  my  statement  extravagant, 
and  unwarrantable.  They  regard  it  as  a  piece 
of  fanaticism,  unworthy  of  the  attention  of  a 
rational  man.  They  look  on  ministers  who 
make  such  assertions,  as  weak-minded  persons, 
and  wanting  in  common  sense.  I  can  bear 
such  imputations  unmoved.     I  only  ask  those 


who  make  them,  to  show  me  some  plain  proof 
that  they  are  right,  and  I  am  wrong.  Let 
them  show  me,  if  they  can,  that  anybody  is 
likely  to  get  to  heaven,  whose  heart  is  not  re- 
newed,— who  is  not  a  believer  in  Jesus  Christ, 
— who  is  not  a  spiritual-minded  and  holy  man. 
IJet  them  show  me,  if  they  can,  that  people  of 
this  description  are  many,  compared  with  those 
who  are  not.  Let  them,  in  one  word,  point  us 
to  any  place  on  eakth,  where  the  great  ma- 
jority of  the  people  are  not  ungodly,  and  the 
truly  godly  are  not  a  little  flock.  Let  them 
do  this,  and  I  will  grant  they  have  done  right 
to  disbelieve  what  I  have  said.  Till  they  do 
this,  I  must  maintain  the  sorrowful  conclusion, 
that  few  persons  are  likely  to  be  saved. 

And  now,  reader,  it  only  remains  to  make 
some  practical  application  of  the  subject  of 
this  tract.  I  have  set  before  you  the  character 
of  saved  people.  I  have  shown  you  the  pain- 
ful delusion  of  the  world,  as  to  the  number  of 
the  saved.  I  have  placed  before  you  the  evi- 
dence of  the  Bible  on  the  subject.  I  have 
drawn  from  the  world  around  you,  plain  facts 


"  SHALL   YOU   BE   SAVED  ?"  135 

in  confirmation  of  the  statements  I  have  made. 
May  the  Lord  grant,  that  all  these  solemn 
truths  may  not  have  been  brought  forward  in 
vain ! 

I  am  quite  aware  that  I  have  said  many 
things  in  this  tract,  which  are  likely  to  give 
offence.  I  know  it.  It  must  be  so.  The 
subject  is  far  too  searching  to  be  otherwise 
than  offensive  to  some.  But  I  have  long  had 
a  deep  conviction,  that  the  subject  has  been 
painfully  neglected,  and  that  few  things  are  so 
little  realized  as  the  comparative  number  of 
the  lost  and  saved.  All  that  I  have  written, 
I  have  written  because  I  firmly  believe  it  to 
be  God's  truth.  All  that  I  have  said,  I  have 
said,  not  as  an  enemy,  but  a  lover  of  your 
soul.  You  do  not  count  him  an  enemy,  who 
gives  you  a  little  medicine  to  save  your  life. 
You  do  not  count  him  an  enemy,  who  shakes 
you  roughly  from  your  sleep,  when  your  house 
is  on  fire.  Surely  you  will  not  count  me  an 
enemy,  because  I  tell  you  strong  truths  for  the 
benefit  of  your  soul.  Bear  with  me  then,  for 
a  few  moments,  while  I  say  a  few  last  words 


136 


"shall  you  be  saved?" 


to  impress  the  whole  subject  on  your  con- 
science. 

Are  there  few  saved  ?  Then,  reader,  shall 
you  he  one  of  the  few?  Oh!  that  you  would 
see  that  salvation  is  the  one  thing  needful ! 
Health,  and  riches,  and  titles,  are  not  need- 
ful things.  A  man  may  gain  heaven  without 
them.  But  what  shall  the  man  do,  who  dies 
not  saved  ?  Oh !  that  you  would  see  that  you 
must  have  salvation  now,  in  this  present  life, 
and  lay  hold  upon  it  for  your  own  soul!  Oh  1 
that  you  would  see  that,  saved  or  not  saved, 
is  the  grand  question  in  religion !  High  church 
or  low  church, — churchman  or  dissenter, — all 
these  are  trifling  questions  in  comparison. 
What  a  man^  needs  to  get  to  heaven  is  an 
actual  personal  interest  in  Christ's  salvation. 
Surely  if  you  are  not  saved,  it  will  be  better 
at  last  never  to  have  been  born. 

Are  there  few  saved  ?  Then,  reader,  if  you 
are  not  one  of  the  few  already^  strive  to  he  one  with- 
out delay.  I  know  not  who  and  what  you  are, 
but  I  say  boldly,  come  to  Christ  and  you  shall 
be  saved.     The  gate  that  leads  to  life  may  be 


"shall  yotj  be  saved?' 


137 


strait, — 'but  it  was  wide  enough  to  admit  Man- 
asseh,  and  Saul  of  Tarsus, — and  wliy  not  you  ? 
The  way  that  leads  to  life  may  be  narrow,  but 
it  is  marked  by  the  footsteps  of  thousands  of 
sinners  like  yourself.  All  have  found  it  a 
good  way.  All  have  persevered,  and  got  safe 
home  at  last.  Jesus  Christ  invites  you.  The 
promises  of  the  gospel  encourage  you  !  Oh  ! 
Reader,  strive  to  enter  in  without  delay. 

Are  there  few  saved?  Then,  reader,  if  you 
are  doubtful  whether  you  are  one  of  the  few ^  make 
sure  work  at  once,  and  he  doubtful  no  more. 
Leave  no  stone  unturned,  in  order  to  ascertain 
your  own  spiritual  state.  Be  not  content  with 
vague  hopes  and  trusts.  Rest  not  on  warm 
feelings  and  temporary  desires  after  God. 
Give  diligence  to  make  your  calling  and  elec- 
tion sure.  Oh  !  give  me  leave  to  say,  that  if 
you  are  content  to  live  on  uncertain  about  sal- 
vation, you  live  the  maddest  life  in  the  world. 
The  fires  of  hell  are  before  you,  and  you  are 
uncertain  whether  your  soul  is  insured.  This 
world  below  must  soon  be  left,  and  you  are 
uncertain  whether  you  have  a  mansion  pre- 


138  "shall  you  be  saved?" 

pared  to  receive  you  in  the  world  to  come. 
The  judgment  will  soon  be  set,  and  you  are 
uncertain  whether  you  have  an  advocate  to 
plead  your  cause.  Eternity  will  soon  begin, 
and  you  are  uncertain  whether  you  are  pre- 
pared to  meet  God  !  Oh  !  sit  down  this  day, 
and  study  the  subject  of  salvation.  Give  God 
no  rest  till  uncertainty  has  disappeared,  and 
you  have  got  hold  of  a  reasonable  hope  that 
you  are  saved. 

Are  there  few  that  be  saved  ?  Then,  reader, 
if  you  are  one  he  a  ihanhful  man.  Chosen  and 
called  of  God,  while  thousands  around  you  are 
sunk  in  unbelief, — seeing  the  kingdom  of  God, 
while  multitudes  around  you  are  utterly  blind, 
— delivered  from  this  present  evil  world,  while 
crowds  are  overcome  by  its  love  and  fear, — 
taught  to  know  sin,  and  God,  and  Christ,  while 
numbers,  to  all  appearance  as  good  as  you, 
live  in  ignorance  and  darkness, — Oh  !  Reader, 
you  have  reason  every  day  to  bless  and  praise 
God.  AVhence  came  this  sense  of  sin,  which 
you  now  experience  ?  Whence  came  this  love 
of  Christ, — this    desire   after    holiness, — this 


■-1 


"shall  you  be  saved?"  139 

hungering  after  righteousness, — this  delight  in 
the  Word  ?  Has  not  free  grace  done  it,  while 
many  a  companion  of  your  youth  still  knows 
nothing  about  it,  or  has  been  cut  off  in  his 
sins  ?  Oh  !  reader,  you  ought  indeed  to  bless 
God  !  Surely  Whitefield  might  well  say,  that 
one  anthem  among  the  saints  in  heaven  would 
be,  "  Why  me  Lord  ? — Why  didst  thou  choose 
me?" 

Are  there  few  that  be  saved?  Then,  Hea- 
der, if  you  are  one,  do  not  wonder  that  you  often 
find  yourself  standing  alone.  I  dare  believe 
you  are  sometimes  almost  brought  to  a  stand- 
still, by  the  corruption  and  wickedness  that 
you  see  in  the  world  around  you.  You  see 
false  doctrine  abounding.  You  see  unbelief 
and  ungodliness  of  every  description.  You 
are  sometimes  tempted  to  say,  "  can  I  really 
be  in  the  right  in  my  religion  ?  Can  it  really 
be  that  all  these  people  are  in  the  wrong?" 
Beware,  reader,  of  giving  way  to  thoughts  like 
these.  Remember,  you  are  only  having  prac- 
tical proof  of  the  truth  of  your  Master's  say- 
ings.    Think  not  that  His  purposes  are  being 


defeated.  Thiak  not  that  His  work  is  not 
going  forward  in  the  world.  He  is  still  taking 
out  a  people  to  His  praise. — He  is  still  raising 
up  witnesses  to  himself,  here  and  there,  all 
over  the  world.  The  saved  will  yet  be  found 
to  be  a  multitude  that  no  man  can  number, 
when  all  are  gathered  together  at  last.  The 
earth  will  yet  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of 
the  Lord.  All  nations  shall  serve  Him.  All 
kings  shall  yet  delight  to  do  Him  honor.  But 
the  night  is  not  yet  spent.  The  day  of  the 
Lord's  power  is  yet  to  come.  In  the  mean- 
time, all  is  going  on  as  He  foretold  1800  years 
ago.     Many  are  being  lost  and  few  saved. 

Are  there  few  saved?  Then,  reader,  if  you 
are  one^  do  not  he  afraid  of  having  too  much  re- 
ligion. Settle  it  down  in  your  mind,  that  you 
will  aim  at  the  highest  degree  of  holiness,  and 
spiritual-mindedness, — that  you  will  not  be  con- 
tent with  any  low  degree  of  sanctification.  Re- 
solve that,  by  the  grace  of  God,  you  will  make 
Christianity  beautiful  in  the  eyes  of  the  world. 
Remember,  that  the  children  of  the  world  have 
but  few  patterns  of  true  religion  before  them. 


"shall  you  be  saved?"  141 

Endeavor,  as  far  as  in  you  lies,  to  make  those 
few  patterns  recommend  the  service  of  your 
Master.  Oh  !  that  every  true  Christian  would 
recollect  that  he  is  set  as  a  light-house  in  the 
midst  of  a  dark  world,  and  labor  that  every 
part  of  him  may  reflect  light,  and  no  side  be 
dim ! 

Are  there  few  saved  ?  then,  reader,  if  you  are 
one^  use  every  opportunity  of  trying  to  do  good  to 
souls.  Settle  it  down  in  your  mind,  that  the 
vast  majority  of  people  around  you  are  in 
awful  danger  of  being  lost  forever.  Work 
every  engine  for  bringing  the  Gospel  to  bear 
upon  them.  Help  every  Christian  machinery 
for  plucking  brands  from  the  burning.  Give 
liberally  to  every  Society,  that  has  for  its  ob- 
ject to  spread  the  everlasting  Gospel.  Throw 
all  your  influence  heartily  and  unreservedly 
into  the  cause  of  doing  good  to  souls.  Live 
like  a  man  who  thoroughly  believes  that  time 
is  short,  and  eternity  near, — the  devil  strong, 
and  sin  abounding, — the  darkness  very  great, 
and  the  light  very  small, — the  ungodly  very 
many,  and  the  godly  very  few, — the  things 


of  the  world  mere  transitory  shadows,  and 
heaven  and  hell  the  great  substantial  realities, 
— Alas!  indeed  for  the  lives  that  many  be- 
lievers live !  How  cold  are  many,  and  how 
frozen, — how  slow  to  do  decided  things  in  re- 
ligion, and  how  afraid  of  going  too  far, — how 
backward  to  attempt  anything  new,  — how 
ready  to  discourage  a  good  movement,  how 
ingenious  in  discovering  reasons  why  it  is  best 
to  sit  still, — how  unwilling  ever  to  allow  that 
the  time  for  active  exertion  is  come, — how 
wise  in  finding  fault, — how  shiftless  in  devis- 
ing plans  to  meet  growing  evils!  Truly,  a 
man  might  sometimes  fancy,  when  he  looks  at 
the  ways  of  many  who  are  counted  believers, 
that  all  the  world  was  going  to  heaven,  and 
hell  were  nothing  but  a  lie. 

Oh !  reader,  beware  of  this  state  of  mind. 
Whether  you  like  to  believe  it  or  not,  hell  is 
filling  fast, — Christ  is  daily  holding  out  His 
hand  to  a  disobedient  people, — many,  many 
are  in  the  way  to  destruction, — few,  few  are  in 
the  way  to  life.  Many,  many  are  likely  to  be 
lost.     Few,  few  are  likely  to  be  saved. 


Header,  once  more  I  ask  you,  shall  you  he 
saved  f  If  you  are  not  saved  already,  my 
heart's  desire  and  prayer  to  God  is,  that  you 
may  seek  salvation  without  delay.  If  you  are 
saved,  my  desire  is,  that  you  may  live  like  a 
saved  soul, — and  like  one  who  knows  that 
saved  souls  are  few. 

I  remain. 

Your  affectionate  Friend, 
J.  C.  Kyle. 


i -^  -.--  .„.^.-..  ^. ..■■.. .^ ^^ — ^^^ 


n 


flto  'gtuiint  %\n?" 


"  What  is  "written  in  the  law  ?     Hew  readest  thou  ?" 
Luke  x.  26. 

Keader, 

The  question  before  your  eyes  is  1800 
years  old.  It  was  asked  by  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.     It  was  asked  concerning  the  Bible. 

I  invite  you  to  consider  this  question.  I 
warn  you,  it  is  just  as  mighty  and  important 
now  as  it  was  on  the  day  when  it  came  from 
our  Lord's  lips.  I  want  to  apply  it  to  the 
conscience  of  every  one  who  reads  this  tract, 
and  to  knock  at  the  door  of  his  heart.  I 
would  fain  sound  a  trumpet  in  the  ear  of 
every  one  who  speaks  English,  and  cry  aloud, 
"  How  readest  thou  ?  Dost  thou  read  the 
Bible  ?^' 

Why  do  I  hold  this  question  to  be  of  such 
mighty  importance?  Why  do  I  press  it  on 
the  notice  of  every  man,  as  a  matter  of  life 


"how   EEADE3T   THOU?"  145 

and  death  ?  Give  me  your  attention  for  a 
few  minutes,  and  you  shall  see.  Follow  me 
through  the  pages  of  this  tract,  and  you  shall 
hear  why  I  ask,  "HOW  KEADEST  THOU? 
~DOST  THOU  BEAD  THE  BIBLE  ?" 

I.  I  ask,  first  of  all,  because  there  is  no  hnowl- 
edge  absolutely  needful  to  a  raavUs  salvation,  except 
a  knowledge  of  the  things  which  are  to  he  found  in 
the  Bible. 

We  live  in  days  when  the  words  of  Daniel 
are  fulfilled  before  our  eyes  : — "  Many  run  to 
and  fro,  and  knowledge  is  increased."  Schools 
are  multiplying  on  every  side.  New  colleges 
are  set  up.  Old  universities  are  reformed  and 
improved.  New  books  are  continually  com- 
ing forth.  More  is  being  taught, — more  is  be- 
ing learned, — more  is  being  read,  than  there 
ever  was  since  the  world  began.  It  is  all  well. 
I  rejoice  at  it.  An  ignorant  population  is  a 
perilous  and  expensive  burden  to  any  nation. 
It  is  a  ready  prey  to  the  first  Absalom,  or  Cat- 
aline,  or  Wat  Tyler,  or  Jack  Cade,  who  may 
arise  to  entice  it  to  do  evil.  But  this  I  say, — • 
10 


we  must  never  forget,  that  all  the  education  a 
man's  head  can  receive,  will  not  save  his  soul 
from  hell,  unless  he  knows  the  truths  of  the 
Bible. 

A  man  may  have  prodigious  learning^  and  yet 
never  he  saved.     He  may  be  master  of  half  the 
languages  spoken  round  the  globe.     He  may 
be  acquainted  with  the  highest  and  deepest 
things  in  heaven  and  earth.     He  may  have 
read  books  till  he  is  like  a  walking  cyclopa3- 
dia.     He  may  be  familiar  with  the  stars  of 
heaven, — the  birds  of  the  air, — the  beasts  of 
the  earth,  and  the  fishes  of  the  sea.     He  may 
be  able  to  speak  of  plants,  from  the  cedar  of 
Lebanon  to  the  hyssop  that  grows  on  the  wall. 
He  may  be  able  to  discourse  of  all  the  secrets 
of  fire,  air,  earth,  and  water.     And  yet,  if  he 
dies  ignorant  of  Bible  truths,  he  dies  a  miser- 
able man.     Chemistry  never  silenced  a  guilty 
conscience.     Mathematics  never  healed  a  bro- 
ken heart.    All  the  sciences  in  the  world  never 
smoothed  down  a  dying  pillow.     No  earthly 
philosophy  ever  supplied  hope  in  death.     No 
natural  theology  ever  gave  peace  in  the  pros- 


-U 


"how  eeadest  thou?"  14:7 

pect  of  meeting  a  holy  God.  All  these  things 
are  of  the  earth,  earthy,  and  can  never  raise 
a  man  above  the  earth's  level.  They  may  en- 
able a  man  to  strut  and  fret  his  little  season 
here  below  with  a  more  dignified  gait  than 
his  fellow-mortals,  but  they  can  never  give 
him  wings,  and  enable  him  to  soar  towards 
heaven.  He  that  has  the  largest  share  of 
them,  will  find  at  length  that  without  Bible 
knowledge  he  has  got  no  lasting  possession. 
Death  will  make  an  end  of  all  his  attainments, 
and  after  death  they  will  do  him  no  good 
at  all. 

A  man  may  he  a  very  ignorant  man,  and  yet 
be  saved.  He  may  be  unable  to  read  a  word, 
or  write  a  letter.  He  may  know  nothing  of 
geography  b*eyond  the  bounds  of  his  own  par- 
ish, and  be  utterly  unable  to  say  which  is  near- 
est, Paris  or  New  York.  He  may  know  no- 
thing of  arithmetic,  and  not  see  any  difference 
between  a  million  and  a  thousand.  He  may 
know  nothing  of  history,  not  even  of  his  own 
land,  and  be  quite  ignorant  whether  his  coun- 
try  owes   most  to   Semiramis,   Boadicea,  or 


Queen  Elizabeth.  He  may  know  nothing  of 
the  affairs  of  his  own  times,  and  be  incapable 
of  telling  you  whether  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer,  or  the  Commander-in-Chief,  or  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  is  managing  the 
national  finances.  He  may  know  nothing  of 
science,  and  its  discoveries, — and  whether  Ju- 
lius Caesar  won  his  victories  with  gunpowder, 
or  the  apostles  had  a  printing  press,  or  the  sun 
goes  round  the  earth,  may  be  matters  about 
which  he  has  not  an  idea.  And  yet  if  that 
very  man  has  heard  Bible  truth  with  his  ears, 
and  believed  it  with  his  heart,  he  knows 
enough  to  save  his  soul.  He  will  be  found  at 
last  with  Lazarus  in  Abraham's  bosom,  while 
his  scientific  fellow-creature,  who  has  died  un- 
converted, is  lost  forever. 

Knowledge  of  the  Bible,  in  short,  is  the  one 
knowledge  that  is  needful.  A  man  may  get 
to  heaven  without  money,  learning,  health,  or 
friends, — but  without  Bible  knowledge  he  will 
never  get  there  at  all.  A  man  may  have  the 
mightiest  of  minds,  and  a  memory  stored  with 
all  that  a  mighty  mind  can  grasp, — and  yet,  if 


he  does  not  know  the  things  of  the  Bible, 
he  will  make  shipwreck  of  his  soul  forever. 
Woe !  woe  !  woe  to  the  man  who  dies  in  igno- 
rance of  the  Bible  ! 

Header,  this  is  the  book  about  which  I  am 
addressing  you  to-daj.  It  is  no  light  matter 
what  you  do  with  such  a  book.  It  concerns 
the  life  of  your  soul.  I  summon  you,  I  charge 
you  to  give  an  honest  answer  to  my  question. 
A^at  are  you  doing  with  the  Bible? — Do  you 
read  it  ?— HOW  KEADEST  THOU  ? 

II.  I  ask,  in  the  second  place,  because  there 
is  no  hook  in  existence  written  in  such  a  manner 
as  the  Bible. 

The  Bible  is  ''  written  by  inspiration  of  God." 
In  this  respect  it  is  utterly  unlike  all  other 
writings.  God  taught  the  writers  of  it  what 
to  say.  God  put  into  their  mind  thoughts  and 
ideas.  God  guided  their  pens  in  setting  down 
those  thoughts  and  ideas.  When  you  read  it, 
you  are  not  reading  the  self-taught  composi- 
tions of  poor  imperfect  men  like  yourself,  but 
the  words  of  the  eternal  God.     When  you 


150  "how  readest  thou?" 

hear  it,  you  are  not  listening  to  the  erring 
opinions  of  short-lived  mortals,  but  to  the  un- 
changing mind  of  the  King  of  kings.  The 
men  who  were  employed  to  indite  the  Bible, 
spoke  not  of  themselves.  They  "  spake  as 
they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  (2  Pet. 
i.  21). 

I  shall  not  waste  time  by  attempting  any 
long  and  labored  proof  of  this.  I  say  boldly, 
that  the  book  itself  is  the  best  witness  of  its 
own  inspiration.  It  is  utterly  inexplicable  and 
unaccountable  in  any  other  point  of  view.  It 
is  the  greatest  standing  miracle  in  the  world. 
He  that  dares  to  say  the  Bible  is  not  inspired, 
let  him  give  a  reasonable  account  of  it,  if  he 
can.  Let  him  explain  the  history  and  charac- 
ter of  the  book  in  a  way  that  will  satisfy  any 
man  of  common  sense.  The  burden  of  proof 
seems  to  my  mind,  to  lie  on  him. 

Here  is  a  book,  written  by  not  less  than 
fifty  different  persons.  The  writers  were  men 
of  every  rank  and  class  in  society.  One  was 
a  lawgiver.  One  was  a  warlike  king.  One 
was  a  peaceful  king.     One  was  a  herdsman. 


"how  keadest  thou?"  151 

One  had  been  brouglit  "up  as  a  publican, — an- 
other as  a  physician, — another  as  a  learned  Pha- 
risee,— two  as  fishermen, — several  as  priests. 
Thej  lived  at  different  intervals,  over  a  space 
of  1500  years ;  and  the  greater  part  of  them 
never  saw  each  other  face  to  face.  And  yet 
there  is  a  perfect  harmony  among  all  these 
writers.  They  all  write  as  if  they  were  under 
one  dictation.  The  handwriting  may  vary,  but 
the  mind  that  runs  through  their  work  is  al- 
ways one  and  the  same.  They  all  tell  the  same 
story.  They  all  give  one  account  of  man, — 
one  account  of  God, — one  account  of  the  way 
of  salvation, — one  account  of  the  heart.  You 
see  truth  unfolding  under  their  hands,  as  you 
go  through  the  volume  of  their  writings, — 
but  you  never  detect  any  real  contradiction, 
or  contrariety  of  view.  Tell  us  not  that  all 
this  might  be  the  result  of  chance.  The  man 
who  can  believe  that^  must  indeed  be  a  credu- 
lous person.  There  is  only  one  satisfactory 
account  of  the  book.  It  was  written  under 
the  direct  inspiration  of  God. 

Here  is  a  book  that  has  been  finished  and  be- 


fore  the  world  for  nearly  1800  years.  These 
1800  years  have  been  the  busiest  and  most 
changeful  period  the  world  has  ever  seen. 
During  this  period  the  greatest  discoveries 
have  been  made  in  science,— the  greatest  al- 
terations in  the  ways  and  customs  of  society, 
— the  greatest  improvements  in  the  habits  and 
usages  of  life.  Hundreds  of  things  might  be 
named  which  satisfied  and  pleased  our  forefa- 
thers, which  we  have  laid  aside  long  ago  as 
obselete,  useless,  and  old-fashioned.  The  laws, 
the  books,  the  houses,  the  furniture,  the  clothes, 
the  carriages  of  each  succeeding  century,  have 
been  a  continual  improvement  on  those  of  the 
century  that  went  before.  There  is  hardly  a 
thing  in  which  faults  and  weak  points  have 
not  been  discovered.  There  is  hardly  an  in- 
stitution which  has  not  gone  through  a  process 
of  sifting,  purifying,  refining,  simplifying,  re- 
forming, amending,  and  changing.  But  all 
this  time  men  have  never  discovered  a  weak 
point  or  defect  in  the  Bible.  Infidels  have 
assailed  it  in  vain.  There  it  stands, — perfect, 
and  fresh,  and  complete,  as  it  did  eighteen 


"how  eeadest  thou?"  153 

centuries  ago.  The  marcli  of  intellect  never 
overtakes  it.  The  wisdom  of  wise  men  never 
gets  beyond  it.  The  science  of  philosophers 
never  proves  it  wrong.  The  discoveries  of 
travellers  never  convict  it  of  mistakes.  Are 
the  distant  islands  of  the  Pacific  laid  open  ? — 
Nothing  is  found  that  in  the  slightest  degree 
contradicts  the  Bible  account  of  man's  heart. 
Are  the  ruins  of  Nineveh  and  Egypt  ransack- 
ed and  explored  ?  —  Nothing  is  found  that 
overturns  one  jot  or  tittle  of  the  Bible's  histor- 
ical statements.  Are  the  heathen  in  the  re- 
motest parts  of  the  earth  induced  to  give  up 
their  idols  ? — The  Bible  is  found  to  meet  the 
wants  of  their  consciences,  as  thoroughly  as  it 
did  those  of  Greeks  and  Eomans  in  the  days 
when  it  was  first  completed.  It  suits  all  ages, 
ranks,  climates,  minds,  conditions.  It  is  the 
one  book  which  suits  the  world.  How 
shall  we  account  for  this  ?  What  satisfactory 
explanation  can  we  give  ?  There  is  only  one 
account  and  one  explanation.  The  Bible  was 
written  by  inspiration.  It  is  the  book  of  the 
world,  because  He  inspired  it  who  formed  the 


, 


154:  "  HOW   EEADEST   THOU  ?" 

world, — who  made  all  nations  of  one  blood, — 
and  knows  man's  common  nature.  It  is  the 
book  for  every  heart,  because  He  dictated  it, 
who  alone  knows  all  hearts  and  what  all 
hearts  require.     It  is  the  book  of  "God. 

Here  is  a  book,  which  for  sublimity,  wis- 
dom, and  purity,  is  utterly  unrivalled.  No 
other  book  in  existence  comes  near  it.  There 
is  a  style  and  tone  of  thought  about  it,  which 
separates  it  from  all  other  writings.  There 
are  no  weak  points,  and  motes,  and  flaws, 
and  blemishes.  There  is  no  mixture  of  in- 
firmity and  feebleness,  such  as  you  will  find 
in  the  works  of  even  the  best  Christians. 
"Holy,  holy,  holy,"  seems  written  on  every 
page.  To  talk  of  comparing  the  Bible  with 
the  Koran,  the  Shasters,  or  the  book  of  Mor- 
mon, is  positively  absurd.  You  might  as  well 
compare  the  sun  with  a  rushlight, — or  Mount 
Blanc  with  a  mole  hill, — or  St.  Paul's  with 
an  Irish  hovel, — or  the  Portland  vase  with  a 
garden  pot, — or  the  Koh-i-noor  diamond  with 
a  bit  of  glass.  God  seems  to  have  allowed 
the  existence  of  these  pretended  revelations, 


"how  eeadest  THor?"  155 

in  order  to  prove  the  immeasurable  superiority 
of  His  own  word.  To  talk  of  the  inspiration 
of  the  Bible,  as  only  differing  in  degree  from 
that  of  such  writings  as  the  works  of  Emerson, 
Gibbon,  and  Yoltaire,  is  simply  a  piece  of 
blasphemous  folly.  Every  honest  and  unpre- 
judiced reader  must  see  that  there  is  a  gulf 
between  the  Bible,  and  any  other  book,  which 
no  man  can  fathom.  You  feel  at  turning  from 
the  Scriptures  to  other  works,  that  you  have 
got  into  a  new  atmosphere.  You  feel  like 
one  who  has  exchanged  gold  for  base  metal, 
and  heaven  for  earth.  And  how  can  this 
mighty  difference  be  accounted  for?  The 
men  who  wrote  the  Bible  had  no  special  ad- 
vantages. They  had,  most  of  them,  little 
leisure,  few  books,  and  no  learning, — such  as 
learning  is  reckoned  in  this  world.  Yet  the 
book  they  compose  is  one  which  is  unrivalled  ! 
There  is  but  one  way  of  accounting  for  this. 
They  wrote  under  the  direct  inspiration  of 
God. 

It   proves   nothing,  against    inspiratio'n,  as 
some  have  asserted,  that   the   writers  of  the 


156  "how  readest  thou?" 

Bible  have  each  a  different  style.     Isaiah  does 
not  write  like   Jeremiah,  and  Paul  does  not 
write  like  John.     This  is  perfectly  true — and 
yet  the  works  of  these  men  are  not   a  whit 
less  equally  inspired.     The  waters  of  the  sea 
have   many  different  shades.      In   one   place 
they  look  blue,  and  in  another  green.     And 
yet  the  difference  is  owing  to  the  depth  or 
shallowness  of  the  part  we  see,  or  to  the  na- 
ture of  the  bottom.     The  water  in  every  case 
is  the  same  salt  sea.     The  breath  of  a  man 
may  produce   different   sounds,  according  to 
the  character  of  the  instrument  on  which  lie 
plays.     The  flute,  the  pipe,  and  the  trumpet, 
have  each  their  peculiar  note.     And  yet  the 
breath  that  calls  forth  the  notes,  is  in  each 
case   one   and   the  same.     The   light   of  the 
planets  we  seen  in  heaven,  is  very  various. 
Mars,  and  Saturn,  and  Jupiter,  have   each  a 
peculiar  color.     And   yet  we  know  that  the 
light  of  the  sun,  which  each  planet  reflects,  is 
in  each  case  one  and  the  same.      Just  in  the 
same   way,  the  books  of  the   Old  and   New 
Testaments    are    all   inspired  truth,  and  yet 


a 


HOW   READEST   THOIT  5 


2" 


157 


the  aspect  of  that  truth  varies  according  to 
the  mind  through  which  the  Holy  Ghost  makes 
it  flow.  The  hand-writing  and  style  of  the 
writers  differ  enough  to  prove  that  each  had 
a  distinct  individual  being ;  but  the  Divine 
Guide  who  dictates  and  directs  the  whole  is 
always  one.  All  is  alike  inspired.  Every 
chapter,  and  verse,  and  word,  is  from  God. 

Oh  !  that  men  who  are  troubled  with  doubts, 
and  questionings,  and  sceptical  thoughts 
about  inspiration,  would  calmly  examine  the 
Bible  for  themselves  !  Oh !  that  they  would 
act  on  the  advice  "which  was  the  first  step 
to  Augustine's  conversion, — "  Take  it  up  and 
read  it ! — take  it  up  and  read  it."  How 
many  Gordian  knots  this  course  of  action 
would  cut !  How  many  difficulties  and  ob- 
jections would  vanish  away  at  once  like  mist 
before  the  rising  sun  !  How  many  would  soon 
confess,  "  The  finger  of  God  is  here  I  God  is 
in  this  book,  and  I  knew  it  not." 

Reader,  this  is  the  book  about  which  I  ad- 
dress you  this  day.  Surely  it  is  no  light  mat- 
ter what  you  are  doing  with  this  book.     It 


is  no  light  thing  that  God  should  have  caused 
this  book  to  be  "  written  for  your  learning," 
and  that  you  should  have  before  you  ''the 
oracles  of  God."  I  charge  you,  I  summon 
you  to  give  an  honest  answer  to  my  question. 
What  art  thou  doing  with  the  Bible  ?  Dost 
thou  read  it  at  all?— HOW  EEADEST 
THOU? 

III.  I  ask,  in  the  third  place,  because  no 
hook  in  existence  contains  such  important  matter 
as  the  Bible. 

The  Bible  handles  subjects  which  are  utterly 
beyond  the  reach  of  man,  when  left  to  him- 
self It  treats  of  things  that  are  invisible, — 
the  soul, — the  world  to  come, — and  eternity; 
— subjects  which  man  has  no  line  to  fathom. 
All  who  have  tried  to  write  on  these  subjects, 
without  Bible  light,  have  done  little  but  show 
their  own  ignorance.  They  grope  like  the 
blind.  They  speculate.  They  conjecture. 
They  generally  make  the  darkness  more  visi- 
ble, and  land  us  in  a  region  of  uncertainty 
and  doubt.     How  little  did  the  wisest  of  the 


heathen  know !  How  dim  were  the  views  of 
Solon,  Socrates,  Aristotle,  Plato,  Cicero,  and 
Seneca  !  A  well-taught  Sunday-school  child, 
in  the  present  day,  knows  more  eternal  truth 
than  all  these  sages  put  together. 

The  Bible  alone  describes  the  heginning  and 
end  of  the  globe  on  luhich  we  live.  It  starts 
from  the  birth-day  of  the  sun,  moon,  stars, 
and  earth,  and  shows  us  creation  in  its  cradle. 
It  foretells  minutely  the  dissolution  of  all 
things, — when  the  stars  shall  fall  from  their 
places,  and  the  earth,  and  all  its  works,  shall 
be  burned  up, — and  shows  us  creation  in  its 
grave.  It  tells  us  the  story  of  the  world's 
youth,  and  it  tells  us  the  story  of  its  old  age. 
It  gives  us  the  picture  of  its  first  days,  and  it 
gives  us  the  picture  of  its  last.  How  vast 
and  important  is  this  knowledge  ! 

The  Bible  alone  gives  a  true  and  faithful 
account  of  ma7i.  It  does  not  flatter  him  as 
novels  and  romances  do.  It  does  not  conceal 
his  faults  and  exaggerate  his  goodness.  It 
paints  him  just  as  he  is.  It  describes  him  as 
a  fallen  creature,  very  far  gone  from  original 


160 


(( 


HOW   KEADEST  THOU 


•2" 


righteousness,  and  of  his  own  nature  inclined 
to  evil, — a  creature  needing  not  only  a  par- 
don, but  a  new  heart,  to  make  him  fit  for 
heaven.  It  shows  him  to  be  a  corrupt  being, 
under  every  possible  circumstance,  when  left 
to  himself; — corrupt  after  the  loss  of  paradise, 
—  corrupt  after  the  flood, —  corrupt  when 
fenced  in  by  laws  and  commandments, — cor- 
rupt when  the  Son  of  God  visited  him  as 
manifest  in  the  flesh, — corrupt  in  the  face  of 
warnings, — corrupt  in  the  face  of  miracles, — 
corrupt  in  the  face  of  judgments, — corrupt  in 
the  face  of  mercies.  In  one  word, — it  shows 
man  to  be  by  nature  always  a  sinner.  How 
important  is  this  knowledge  ! 

The  Bible  alone  gives  us  true  views  of 
God.  By  nature  man  knows  nothing  of  Him. 
All  his  conceptions  and  ideas  of  Him  are 
low,  grovelling,  and  debased.  What  can  be 
more  degraded  than  the  gods  of  the  Canaan- 
ites,  and  Egyptians, — of  Babylon,  of  Greece, 
and  of  Kome  ?  AVhat  can  be  more  vile  than 
the  gods  of  the  Hindoos,  and  other  heathens, 
in  our  own  times  ?     By  the  Bible  we  know 


"how   READEST  THOU?"  161 

that  God  hates  sin.  The  destruction  of  the 
world  by  the  flood, — the  burning  of  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah, — the  drowning  of  Pharaoh, 
and  the  Egyptians  in  the  Eed  Sea, — the  cutting 
off  of  the  nations  of  Canaan, — the  overthrow 
of  Jerusalem  and  the  temple, — the  scattering 
of  the  Jews ; — all  these  are  unmistakable 
witnesses.  By  the  Bible  we  know  that  God 
loves  sinners.  His  gracious  promise  in  the  day 
of  Adam's  fall, — His  long-suffering  in  the 
times  of  Noah, — His  deliverance  of  Israel  out 
of  the  land  of  Egypt, — His  gift  of  the  lav/  at 
Mount  Sinai, — His  bringing  the  tribes  into 
the  promised  land, — His  forbearance  in  the 
days  of  the  judges  and  kings, — His  repeated 
warnings  by  the  mouth  of  His  prophets, — 
His  restoration  of  Israel,  after  the  Babylonian 
captivity, — His  sending  His  Son  into  the 
world,  in  due  time,  to  be  crucified, — His  com- 
manding the  Gospel  to  be  preached  to  the 
Gentiles ; — all  these  are  speaking  facts.  By 
the  Bible  we  learn  that  God  knows  all  things. 
We  see  Him  foretelling  things  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  years  before  they  take  place,  and 

1) 


162  "how  readest  thou?" 

as  be  foretells  so  it  comes  to  pass.  He  fore- 
told that  the  family  of  Ham  should  be  a  ser- 
vant of  servants, — that  Tyre  should  become 
a  rock  for  drying  nets, — that  Nineveh  should 
become  a  desolation, — that  Babylon  should 
be  made  a  desert, — that  Egypt  should  be 
the  basest  of  kingdoms, — and  that  the  Jews 
should  not  be  reckoned  among  the  nations. 
All  these  thing  were  utterly  unlikely.  Yet 
all  have  been  fulfilled.  Eeader,  once  more  I 
say,  how  important  is  this  knowledge  1 

The  Bible  alone  teaches  us  that  God  has 
made  a  full^  perfect^  and  complete  provision  for 
the  salvation  of  fallen  raan.  It  tells  us  of  an 
atonement  made  for  the  sin  of  the  world,  by 
the  sacrifice  and  death  of  God's  own  Son 
upon  the  cross.  It  tells  us  that  by  His  death 
for  sinners.  He  obtained  eternal  redemption 
for  all  that  believe  on  Him.  The  claims  of 
God's  broken  law  have  now  been  satisfied. 
Christ  has  suffered  for  sin,  the  just  for  the 
unjust.  God  can  now  be  just,  and  yet  the 
justifier  of  the  ungodly.  It  tells  us  that  there 
is  now  a  complete  remedy  for  the  guilt  of  sin, 


— even  tlie  precious  blood  of  Christ.  Who- 
soever believeth  on  Him  shall  not  perish,  but 
have  eternal  life.  It  tells  us  that  there  is  a 
complete  remedy  for  the  power  of  sin, — even 
the  almighty  grace  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  It 
shows  us  the  Holy  Ghost  quickening  believers, 
and  making  them  new  creatures.  It  promises 
a  new  heart  and  a  new  nature  to  all  who  will 
hear  Christ's  voice,  and  follow  him.  Eeader, 
once  more  I  say,  how  important  is  this  knowl- 
edge ! 

The  Bible  alone  explains  the  state  of  things 
that  we  see  in  the  world  around  us.  There  are 
many  things  on  earth  which  a  natural  man 
cannot  explain.  The  amazing  inequality  of 
conditions, — the  poverty  and  distress, — the 
oppression  and  persecution, — the  shakings 
and  tumults, — the  failures  of  statesmen  and 
legislators, — the  constant  existence  of  uncured 
evils  and  abuses, — all  these  things  are  often 
puzzling  to  him.  He  sees,  but  does  not  un- 
derstand. But  the  Bible  makes  it  all  clear. 
The  Bible  can  tell  him  that  the  whole  world 
lieth  in  wickedness, — that  the  prince  of  the 


world,  the  devil,  is  everywhere,  and  that  it  is 
vain  to  look  for  perfection  in  the  present  order 
of  things.  The  Bible  will  tell  him  that  neither 
laws  nor  education  can  ever  change  men's 
hearts, — and  that  just  as  no  man  will  ever 
make  a  machine  work  well,  unless  he  allows 
for  friction, — so  also  no  man  will  do  much 
good  in  the  world,  unless  he  always  remem- 
bers that  the  world  he  works  in  is  full  of  sin. 
The  Bible  will  tell  him  that  there  is  "  a  good 
time"  certainly  coming, — and  coming  perhaps 
sooner  than  people  expect  it, — a  time  of  per- 
fect knowledge,  perfect  justice,  perfect  hap- 
piness, and  perfect  peace.  But  the  Bible  will 
tell  him  this  time  shall  not  be  brought  in  by 
any  power  but  that  of  Christ  coming  to  earth 
again.  And  for  that  second  coming  of  Christ 
the  Bible  will  tell  him  to  prepare.  Oh  !  reader, 
how  important  is  all  this  knowledge  ! 

But  time  would  fail  me,  if  I  were  to  enter 
fully  into  all  the  great  things  which  the  Bible 
reveals.  It  is  not  by  any  sketch  or  outline 
that  the  treasures  of  the  Bible  can  be  display- 
ed.    It  would  be  easy  to  point  out  many  other 


— 1 


"how  eeadest  thou?"  165 

things,  besides  those  I  have  mentioned,  and 
yet  the  half  of  its  riches  would  be  left  untold. 

How  comforting  is  the  account  it  gives  us 
of  the  great  mediator  of  the  New  Testament, 
— the  man  Christ  Jesus !  Four  times  over  His 
picture  is  graciously  drawn  before  our  eyes. 
Four  separate  witnesses  tell  us  of  His  miracles 
and  His  ministry, — His  sayings  and  His  do- 
ings,— His  life  and  His  death, — His  power  and 
His  love, — His  kindness  and  His  patience, — 
His  ways,  His  words,  His  works,  His  thoughts, 
His  heart.  Blessed  be  God,  there  is  one  thing 
in  the  Bible,  the  most  prejudiced  reader  can 
hardly  fail  to  understand,  and  that  is  the  char- 
acter of  Jesus  Christ ! 

How  encouraging  are  the  examples  the 
Bible  gives  us  of  good  people !  It  tells  us  of 
many  who  were  of  like  passions  with  our- 
selves,— men  and  women  who  had  cares, 
crosses,  families,  temptations^  afflictions,  dis- 
eases, like  ourselves, — and  yet  by  faith  and 
patience  inherited  the  promises,  and  got  safe 
home.  It  keeps  back  nothing  in  the  history 
of  these  people.     Their  mistakes,  their  infirm- 


L_- 


ities,  their  conflicts,  their  experience,  their 
prayers,  their  praises,  their  useful  lives,  their 
happy  deaths, — all  are  fally  recorded.  And 
it  tells  us  the  God  and  Saviour  of  these  men 
and  women  still  waits  to  be  gracious,  and  is 
altogether  unchanged. 

How  instructive  are  the  examples  the  Bible 
gives  us  of  bad  people !  It  tells  us  of  men 
and  women  who  had  light,  and  knowledge, 
and  opportunities,  like  ourselves,  and  yet  har- 
dened their  hearts,  loved  the  world,  clung  to 
their  sins,  would  have  their  own  way,  despis- 
ed reproof,  and  ruined  their  own  souls  forever. 
And  it  warns  us  that  the  God  who  punished 
Pharaoh,  and  Saul,  and  Ahab,  and  Jezebel, 
and  Judas,  and  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  is  a 
God  who  never  alters,  and  that  there  is  a  hell. 

How  precious  are  the  promises  which  the 
Bible  contains  for  the  use  of  those  who  love 
God !  There  is  hardly  any  possible  emergency 
or  condition  for  which  it  has  not  some  word  in 
season.  And  it  tells  men  that  God  loves  to 
be  put  in  remembrance  of  these  promises,  and 


that  if  He  has  said  He  will  do  a  thing,  His 
promise  shall  certainly  be  performed. 

How  blessed  are  the  hopes  which  the  Bible 
holds  out  to  the  believer  in  Christ  Jesus! 
Peace  in  the  hour  of  death, — rest  and  happi- 
ness on  the  other  side  of  the  grave, — a  glo- 
rious body  in  the  morning  of  the  resurrection, 
— a  full  and  triumphant  acquittal  in  the  day 
of  judgment, — an  everlasting  reward  in  the 
kingdom  of  Christ, — a  joyful  meeting  with 
the  Lord's  people  in  the  day  of  gathering  to- 
gether ; — these,  these  are  the  future  prospects 
of  every  true  Christian.  They  are  all  writ- 
ten in  the  book, — in  the  book  which  is  all 
true. 

How  striking  is  the  light  which  the  Bible 
throws  on  the  character  of  man  !  It  teaches 
us  what  men  may  be  expected  to  be,  and  do,  in 
every  position  and  station  of  life.  It  gives  us 
the  deepest  insight  into  the  secret  springs  and 
motives  of  human  actions,  and  the  ordinary 
course  of  events  under  the  control  of  human 
agents.  It  is  the  true  discerner  of  the  thoughts 
and  intents  of  the  heart.     How  deep  is  the 


168  "now   READEST   TIIOU  ?" 

wisdom  contained  in  the  books  of  Proverbs 
and  Ecclesiastes !  I  can  well  understand  an 
old  divine  saying,  "  Give  me  a  candle  and  a 
Bible,  and  shut  me  up  in  a  dark  dungeon,  and 
I  will  tell  you  all  that  the  whole  world  is 
doing." 

Header,  all  these  are  things  which  men  could 
find  nowhere  except  in  the  Bible.  We  have 
probably  not  the  least  idea  how  little  we  should 
know  about  these  things  if  we  had  not  the 
Bible.  We  hardly  know  the  value  of  the  air 
we  breathe,  and  the  sun  which  shines  on  us, 
because  we  have  never  known  what  it  is  to 
be  without  them.  We  do  not  value  the  truths 
on  which  I  have  been  just  now  dwelling,  be- 
cause we  do  not  realize  the  darkness  of  men 
to  whom  these  truths  have  not  been  revealed. 
Surely  no  tongue  can  fully  tell  the  value  of 
the  treasures  this  one  volume  contains.  Well 
might  old  John  Newton  say  that  some  books 
were  copper  books  in  his  estimation,  some  were 
silver^  and  some  few  were  gold  ; — but  the  Bible 
alone  was  like  a  book  all  made  up  of  hank 
notes. 


HOW   EEADEST   THOU 


2" 


169 


Think  not  for  a  moment  that  any  part  of 
this  precious  book  is  not  profitable.  Think 
not  that  such  portions  as  catalogues  and  pedi- 
grees,— as  Leviticus,  and  the  description  of 
Ezekiel's  temple, — are  useless  and  without 
value.  Believe  me  it  is  childish  folly  to  ques- 
tion the  usefulness  of  any  word  in  the  Bible 
merely  because  our  eyes  at  present  do  not  see 
its  use. 

Come  with  me  and  look  for  a  moment  at  the 
book  of  nature,  and  I  will  soon  show  you 
things  of  which  you  do  not  see  the  use. 

Place  yourself  in  imagination  by  the  side  of 
an  Australian  gold-digging,  and  observe  the 
earth  that  is  drawn  up  from  its  bottom.  It 
is  likely  that  your  unpractised  eye  will  see  no- 
thing in  that  heap  but  rubbish,  and  dirt,  and 
stones.  And  yet  that  very  heap  of  earth  may 
prove  on  washing  to  be  full  of  particles  of  the 
purest  gold.  It  is  just  the  same  with  the  Bible. 
We  see  but  a  little  of  it  now.  We  shall  find 
hereafter  that  every  word  of  it  contained 
gold. 

Place  yourself  in  imagination  on  the  top  of 


170  "how  readest  thou?" 


some  Highland  mountain.  Look  at  the  minute 
moss  or  lichen  which  clings  to  the  side  of  that 
mass  of  rock.  Tell  me  if  j^ou  can  what  use 
and  purpose  that  lichen  serves.  The  birds  of 
the  air,  the  beasts  of  the  field,  the  very  in  sects 
leave  it  alone.  The  grouse,  and  ptarmigan, 
and  red  deer  draw  no  sustenance  from  it.  The 
rock  does  not  require  its  covering.  And  yet 
that  minute  lichen  is  as  truly  a  part  of  God's 
creation  as  the  cedars  of  Lebanon,  or  the  Vic- 
toria Kegia  of  the  South  American  rivers. 
Place  it  under  a  microscope,  and  you  will  soon 
see  that  like  all  other  works  of  God  it  is 
"  very  good,"  and  full  of  beautiful  design. 
Settle  it  down  in  your  mind,  that  as  it  is  with, 
the  book  of  nature,  so  it  is  with  the  book  of 
Eevelation,  the  written  Word  of  God.  There 
is  not  a  chapter  or  verse  from  first  to  last, 
which  is  not  in  some  way  profitable.  If  you 
and  I  do  not  see  its  use,  it  is  because  we  have 
not  eyes  to  see  it  yet.  But  all,  we  may  rest 
assured,  is  precious.  All  is  very  good.  Well 
said  Bishop  Jewell,  "  There  is  no  sentence,  no 
clause,  no  word,  no  syllable,  no  letter,  but  it 


"now   EEADEST   THOU?"  lYl 

is  written  for  tliy  instruction.  There  is  not 
one  jot,  but  it  is  signed  and  sealed  with  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb." 

Eeader,  this  is  the  book  about  which  I  ad- 
dress you  this  day.  Surely  it  is  no  light  mat- 
ter what  you  are  doing  with  it.  It  is  no  light 
matter  in  what  way  you  are  using  this  treas- 
ure. I  charge  you,  I  summon  you  to  give 
an  honest  answer  to  my  question, — What  art 
thou  doing  with  the  Bible  ? — Dost  thou  read 
it?— HOAV  EEADEST  THOU? 

TV.  I  ask  in  the  fourth  place,  because  no  book 
in  existence  has  produced  such  wonderful  effects  on 
manlcind  at  large  as  the  Bible. 

This  is  the  book  whose  doctrines  turned  the 
world  upside  down  in  the  days  of  the  apostles. 

Eighteen  centuries  have  now  passed  away 
since  God  sent  forth  a  few  Jews  from  a  remote 
corner  of  the  earth  to  do  a  work  which  ac- 
cording to  man's  judgment  must  have  seemed- 
impossible.  He  sent  them  forth  at  a  time 
when  the  whole  world  was  full  of  superstition, 
cruelty,  lust,  and  sin.     He  sent  them  forth  to 


proclaim  that  the  established  religions  of  the 
earth  were  false  and  useless,  and  must  be  for- 
saken. He  sent  them  forth  to  persuade  men 
to  give  up  old  habits  and  customs,  and  to  live 
different  lives.  He  sent  them  forth  to  do  bat- 
tle with  vested  interests,  with  old  associations, 
with  a  bigoted  priesthood,  with  sneering  phil- 
osophers, with  an  ignorant  population,  with 
bloody-minded  emperors,  with  the  whole  in- 
fluence of  Rome.  Never  was  there  an  enter- 
prise to  all  appearance  more  Quixotic,  and  less 
likely  to  succeed  1 

And  how  did  He  arm  them  for  this  battle? 
He  gave  them  no  carnal  weapons.  He  gave 
them  no  worldly  power  to  compel  assent,  and 
no  worldly  riches  to  bribe  belief  He  simply 
put  the  Holy  Ghost  into  their  hearts,  and  the 
Scriptures  into  their  hands.  He  simply  bade 
them  to  expound  and  explain,  to  enforce  and 
to  publish  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible.  The 
preacher  of  Christianity  in  the  first  century 
was  not  a  man  with  a  sword  and  an  army,  to 
frighten  people,  like  Mahomet, — or  a  man 
with  a  license  to  be  sensual,  to  allure  people, 


like  the  priests  of  tlie  shameful  idols  of  Hin- 
dostaD.  No  1  he  was  nothing  more  than  one 
holy  man  with  one  holy  book. 

And  how  did  these  men  of  one  book  pros- 
per ?  In  a  few  generations  they  entirely 
changed  the  face  of  society  by  the  doctrines 
of  the  Bible.  They  emptied  the  temples  of 
the  heathen  gods.  They  famished  idolatry, 
or  left  it  high  and  dry  like  a  stranded  ship. 
They  brought  into  the  v/orld  a  higher  tone  of 
morality  between  man  and  man.  They  raised 
the  character  and  position  of  woman.  They 
altered  the  standard  of  purity  and  decency. 
They  put  an  end  to  many  cruel  and  bloody 
customs,  such  as  the  gladiatorial  fights.  There 
was  no  stopping  the  change.  Persecution  and 
opposition  were  useless.  One  victory  after 
another  was  won.  One  bad  thing  after  an- 
other melted  away.  Whether  men  liked  it  or 
not,  they  were  insensibly  affected  by  the  move- 
ment of  the  new  religion,  and  drawn  within 
the  whirlpool  of  its  power.  The  earth  shook, 
and  their  rotten  refuges  fell  to  the  ground. 
The  flood  rose,  and  they  found  themselves  ob- 


r 


174  "how  readp:st  thou?" 

liged  to  rise  with  it.  The  tree  of  Christianity 
swelled  and  grew,  and  the  chains  they  had 
cast  round  it  to  arrest  its  growth,  snapped  like 
tow.  And  all  this  was  done  by  the  doctrines 
of  the  Bible !  Talk  of  victories  indeed  ! 
What  are  the  victories  of  Alexander,  and 
Csesar,  and  Marlborough,  and  Napoleon,  and 
Wellington,  compared  with  those  I  have  just 
mentioned  ?  For  extent,  for  completeness, 
for  results,  for  permanence,  there  are  no  vic- 
tories like  the  victories  of  the  Bible. 

This  is  the  book  which  turned  Europe  upside 
down  in  the  days£)f  the  Protestant  Eeformation. 
No  man  can  read  the  history  of  Christendom 
as  it  was  five  hundred  years  age,  and  not  see 
that  darkness  covered  the  whole  professing 
church  of  Christ,  even  a  darkness  that  might 
be  felt.     So  great  was  the  change  that  had 
come  over  Christianity,  that  if  an  apostle  had 
risen  from  the  dead  he  would  not  have  recog- 
nized it,  and  would  have  thought  that  heathen- 
ism had  revived  again.    .  The  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel  lay  buried  under  a  dense  mass  of  human 
traditions.     Penances,  and  pilgrimages,  and  in- 


"how  eeadest  thou?"  175 

dulgences,  relic-worship,  and  image- worship, 
and  saint-worship,  and  worship  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  formed  the  sum  and  substance  of  most 
people's  religion.  The  church  was  made  an 
idol.  The  priests  and  ministers  of  the  church 
■usurped  the  place  of  Christ.  And  by  what 
means  was  all  this  miserable  darkness  cleared 
away  ?  By  none  so  much  as  by  bringing 
forth  once  more  the  Bible. 

It  was  not  merely  the  preaching  of  Luther 
and  his  friends,  which  established  Protestant- 
ism in  Germany.  The  grand  lever  which 
overthrew  the  Pope's  power  in  that  country, 
was  Luther's  translation  of  the  Bible  into  the 
German  tongue.  It  was  not  merely  the  writings 
of  Cranmer  and  the  English  Reformers  which 
cast  down  popery  in  England.  The  seeds  of 
the  work  thus  carried  forward  were  first  sown 
by  Wyclifife's  translation  of  the  Bible  many 
years  before.  It  was  not  merely  the  quarrel 
of  Henry  VIII.  and  the  Pope  of  Rome,  which 
loosened  the  Pope's  hold  on  English  minds. 
It  was  the  royal  permission  to  have  the  Bible 
translated  and  set  up  in  churches,  so  that  every 


one  who  liked  might  read  it.  Yesl  it  was 
the  reading  and  circulation  of  Scripture  which 
mainly  established  the  cause  of  Protestantism 
in  England,  in  Germany,  and  Switzerland. 
Without  it  the  people  would  probably  have 
returned  to  their  former  bondage  when  the 
first  reformers  died.  But  by  reading  of  the 
Bible  the  public  mind  became  gradually 
leavened  with  the  principles  of  true  religion. 
Men's  eyes  became  thoroughly  open.  Their 
spiritual  understandings  became  thoroughly 
enlarged.  The  abominations  of  popery  be- 
came distinctly  visible.  The  excellence  of  the 
pure  Gospel  became  a  rooted  idea  in  their 
hearts.  It  was  then  in  vain  for  Popes  to  thun- 
der forth  excommunications.  It  was  useless 
for  kings  and  queens  to  attempt  to  stop  the 
course  of  Protestantism  by  fire  and  sword.  It 
was  all  too  late.  The  people  knew  too  much. 
They  had  seen  the  light.  They  had  heard 
the  joyful  sound.  They  had  tasted  the  truth. 
The  sun  had  risen  on  their  minds.  The  scales 
had  fallen  from  their  eyes.  The  Bible  had 
done  its  appointed  work  within  them,  and  that 


work  was  not  to  be  overthrown.     The  people 
would  not  return  to  Egypt.     The  clock  could 
not  be  put  back  again.     A  mental  and  moral 
revolution  had  been  effectgjd,  and  mainly  effect- 
ed by  God's  Word.     Oh!  reader,  those  are 
the  true  revolutions  which  the  Bible  effects. 
What  are  all  the  revolutions  recorded  by  Yer- 
tot ;  what  are  all  the  revolutions  which  France 
and  England  have  gone  through,  compared  to 
these  ?     No  revolutions  are  so  bloodless,  none 
so  satisfactory,  none  so  rich  in  lasting  results, 
as  the  revolutions  accomplished  by  the  Bible ! 
This  is  the  book  on  which  the  well-being  of 
nations  has  always  hinged,  and  with  which  the 
interests  of  every  nation  in  Christendom  at  this 
moment  are  inseparably  bound  up.     Just  in 
proportion  as  the  Bible  is  honored  or  not, 
light  or  darkness,  morality  or  immorality,  true 
religion  or  superstition,  liberty  or  despotism, 
good  laws  or  bad,  will  be  found  in  a  land. 
Come  with  me  and  open  the  pages  of  history, 
and  you  will  read  the  proofs  in  time  past. 
Bead  it  in  the  history  of  Israel  under  the 
kings.     How  great  was  the  wickedness  that 


then  prevailed  !  But  who  can  wonder  ?  The 
law  of  the  Lord  had  been  completely  lost  sight 
of,  and  was  found  in  the  days  of  Josiah  in  a 
corner  of  the  templ«. — Eead  it  in  the  history 
of  the  Jews  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ's  time. 
How  awful  the  picture  of  Scribes  and  Phari- 
sees, and  their  religion  !  But  who  can  won- 
der ?  The  Scripture  was  made  void  by  man's 
traditions. — Read  it  in  the  history  of  the  church 
of  Christ  in  the  middle  ages.  What  can  be 
worse  than  the  accounts  we  have  of  ignorance 
and  superstition?  But  who  can  wonder? 
The  times  might  well  be  dark,  when  men  had 
not  the  light  of  the  Bible. 

Come  with  me  next  and  look  at  the  map  of 
the  world,  and  see  what  a  tale  it  tells  !  Which 
are  the  countries  where  the  greatest  amount  of 
ignorance,  superstition,  immorality,  and  tyran- 
ny is  to  be  found  at  this  very  moment  ?  The 
countries  in  which  the  Bible  is  a  forbidden  or 
neglected  book, — such  countries  as  Italy,  and 
Spain,  and  the  South  American  States.  Which 
are  the  countries  where  liberty,  and  public  and 
private  morality  have   attained  the  highest 


pitch  ?  The  countries  where  the  Bible  is  free 
to  all,  like  England,  Scotland,  and  the  United 
States.  Yes  !  when  you  know  how  a  nation 
deals  with  the  Bible,  you  may  generally  know 
what  a  nation  is.  Oh !  that  the  rulers  of  some 
nations  did  but  know  that  a  free  Bible  is 
the  grand  secret  of  national  prosperity,  and 
that  the  surest  way  to  make  subjects  orderly 
and  obedient,  is  to  allow  a  free  passage  to  the 
living  waters  of  God's  Word !  Oh  !  that  the 
people  of  some  countries  did  but  see  that  a 
free  Bible  is  the  beginning  of  all  real  freedom, 
and  that  the  first  liberty  they  should  seek 
after,  is  liberty  for  the  apostles  and  prophets, 
— liberty  to  have  a  Bible  in  every  house,  and 
a  Bible  in  every  hand !  Well  said  Bishop 
Hooper,  "  God  in  heaven  and  the  king  on 
earth  have  no  greater  friend  than  the  Bible." 
It  is  a  striking  fact,  that  when  British  Sover- 
eigns are  crowned,  they  are  publicly  presented 
with  the  Bible,  and  told,  "This  book  is  the 
■  most  valuable  thing  this  world  affords." 

This  is  the  book  which  at  this  moment  is 
producing  the  mightiest  moral  and  spiritual 


180  "how  readest  thou?" 

effects  througliout  the  world.  This  is  the 
secret  of  the  wonderful  success  which  attends 
the  London  City  Mission,  and  the  Irish  Church 
Missions.  This  is  the  true  account  of  that 
amazing  move  toward  Protestantism  which 
has  lately  taken  place  in  several  departments 
of  France.  Which  are  the  cities  of  the  earth 
where  the  fewest  soldiers  and  police  are  re- 
quired to  keep  order  ? — London,  Manchester, 
Liverpool,  New  York, — cities  which  are  de- 
luged with  Bibles.  Which  are  the  churches 
on  earth  which  are  producing  the  greatest 
effect  on  mankind  ?  The  churches  in  which 
the  Bible  is  exalted.  Which  are  the  parishes 
in  England  and  Scotland  where  religion  and 
morality  have  the  strongest  hold  ?  The  parish- 
es in  which  the  Bible  is  most  circulated  and 
read.  Who  are  the  ministers  in  England  who 
have  the  most  real  influence  over  the  minds  of 
the  people  ?  Not  those  who  are  ever  crying 
"  Church  !  Church  !"  but  those  who  are  faith- 
fully preaching  the  Word.  Ah !  reader,  a 
church  which  does  not  honor  the  Bible,  is  as 
useless  as  a  body  without  life,  or  a  steam  en- 


"how  eeadest  thou'?"  181 

gine  witlaout  fire.  A  minister  who  does  not 
honor  the  Bible,  is  as  useless  as  a  soldier  with- 
out arms,  a  builder  without  tools,  a  pilot  with- 
out compass,  or  a  messenger  without  tidings. 
It  is  cheap  and  easy  work  for  Eoman  Catho- 
lics, Neologians,  and  friends  of  secular  educa- 
tion, to  sneer  at  those  who  love  the  Bible. 
But  the  Eomanist,  the  Neologian,  and  the 
friends  of  mere  secular  education,  have  never 
yet  shown  us  one  New  Zealand,  one  Tinne- 
velly,  one  Sierra  Leone  as  the  fruit  of  their 
principles.  We  only  can  do  that  who  honor 
the  Bible,  and  we  say  these  are  the  works  of 
the  Word,  and  the  proofs  of  its  power. 

This  is  the  book  to  which  the  civilized  world 
is  indebted  for  many  of  its  best  and  most 
praise-worthy  institutions.  Few  probably  are 
aware  how  many  are  the  good  things  that  men 
have  adopted  for  the  public  benefit,  of  which 
the  origin  may  be  clearly  traced  up  to  the 
Bible.  It  has  left  lasting  marks  wherever  it 
has  been  received.  From  the  Bible  are  drawn 
many  of  the  best  laws  by  which  society  is  kept 
in  order.     From  the  Bible  has  been  obtained 


the  standard  of  morality  about  truth,  honesty, 
and  the  relations  of  man  and  wife,  which  pre- 
vails among  Christian  nations,  and  which, — 
however  feebly  respected  in  many  cases, — 
makes  so  great  a  difference  between  Christians 
and  heathens.  To  the  Bible  we  are  indebted 
for  that  most  merciful  provision  for  the  poor 
man,  the  Sabbath  day.  To  the  influence  of 
the  Bible  we  owe  nearly  every  humane  and 
charitable  institution  in  existence.  The  sick, 
the  poor,  the  aged,  the  orphan,  the  lunatic,  the 
idiot,  the  blind,  were  seldom  or  never  thought 
of  before  the  Bible  leavened  the  world.  You 
may  search  in  vain  for  any  record  of  institu- 
tions for  their  aid  in  the  histories  of  Athens 
or  of  Eome.  Ah  !  reader,  many  sneer  at  the 
Bible,  and  say  the  world  would  get  on  well 
enough  without  it,  who  little  think  how  great 
are  their  own  obligations  to  the  Bible.  Little 
does  the  infidel  think  as  he  lies  sick  in  some 
of  our  great  hospitals,  that  he  owes  all  his 
present  comforts  to  the  very  book  he  affects  to 
despise.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  Bible,  he 
might  have  died  in  misery,  uncared  for,  un- 


. t 


noticed,  and  alone.  Yerily  the  world  we  live 
in  is  fearfully  unconscious  of  its  debts.  The  last 
day  alone,  I  believe,  will  tell  the  fall  amount 
of  benefit  conferred  upon  it  by  the  Bible. 

Eeader,  this  wonderful  book  is  the  subject 
about  which  I  address  you  this  da}^  Surely 
it  is  no  light  matter  what  you  are  doing  with 
the  Bible.  The  swords  of  conquering  generals, 
— the  ship  in  which  Nelson  led  the  fleets  of 
England  to  victory, — ^the  hydraulic  press  which 
raised  the  tubular  bridge  at  the  Menai ; — each 
and  all  of  these  are  objects  of  interest  as  in- 
struments of  mighty  power.  The  book  I  speak 
of  this  day  is  an  instrument  a  thousand-fold 
mightier  still.  Surely  it  is  no  light  matter 
whether  you  are  paying  it  the  attention  it  de- 
serves. I  charge  you,  I  summon  you  to  give 
me  an  honest  answer  this  day, — What  art  thou 
doing  with  the  Bible  ? — Dost  thou  read  it  ? 
HOW  EEADEST  THOU? 

V.  I  ask  in  the  fifth  place,  because  no  hook 
in  existence  can  do  so  much  for  every  one  who 
reads  it  rightly^  as  the  Bible. 


184  *'nOW   EEADEST   THOU?" 

The  Bible  does  not  profess  to  teach  the  wis- 
dom of  this  world.  It  was  not  written  to  ex- 
plain geology  or  astronomy.  It  will  neither 
instruct  you  in  mathematics,  nor  in  natural 
philosohpy.  It  will  not  make  you  a  doctor, 
or  a  lawyer,  or  an  engineer. 

But  there  is  another  world  to  be  thought  of, 
beside  that  world  in  which  man  now  lives. 
There  are  other  ends  for  which  man  was  crea- 
ted, beside  making  money  and  working.  There 
are  other  interests  which  he  is  meant  to  attend 
to,  beside  those  of  his  body  ;  and  those  interests 
are  the  interests  of  his  soul.  It  is  the  interests 
of  the  immortal  soul  which  the  Bible  is  especi- 
ally able  to  promote.  If  you  would  know 
law,  you  may  study  Blackstone  or  Sugden. 
If  you  would  know  astronomy  or  geology, 
you  may  study  Herschel  and  Buckland.  But 
if  you  would  know  how  to  have  your  soul 
saved,  you  must  study  the  written  Word  of 
God. 

Header,  the  Bible  is  ''  able  to  make  a  man 
wise  unto  salvation^  through  faith  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesusy      It  can  show    you  the    way 


which  leads  to  heaven.  It  can  teach  you 
everything  you  need  to  know,  point  out  every- 
thing you  need  to  believe,  and  explain  every- 
thing you  need  to  do.  It  can  show  you  what 
you  are, — a  sinner.  It  can  show  you  what 
God  is, — ^perfectly  holy.  It  can  show  you  the 
great  giver  of  pardon,  peace,  and  grace, — 
Jesus  Christ  I  have  read  of  an  Englishman 
who  visited  Scotland  in  the  days  of  Blair, 
Eutherford,  and  Dickson,  three  famous  preach- 
ers,— and  heard  all  three  in  succession.  He 
said  that  the  first  showed  him  the  majesty  of 
God, — the  second  showed  him  the  beauty  of 
Christ, — and  the  third  showed  him  all  his  heart 
It  is  the  glory  and  beauty  of  the  Bible,  that 
it  is  always  teaching  these  three  things  more 
or  less,  from  the  first  chapter  of  it  to  the  last. 
The  Bible,  applied  to  the  heart  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  is  the  grand  instrument  hy  which  souls 
are  first  converted  to  God,  That  mighty  change 
is  generally  begun  by  some  text  or  doctrine 
of  the  Word,  brought  home  to  a  man's  con- 
science. In  this  way  the  Bible  has  worked 
moral  miracles  by  thousands.     It   has  made 


drunkards  become  sober, — uncbaste  people 
become  pure, — thieves  become  honest, — and 
violent-tempered  people  become  meek.  It 
has  wholly  altered  the  course  of  men's  lives. 
It  has  caused  their  old  things  to  pass  away, 
and  made  all  their  ways  new.  It  has  taught 
worldly  people  to  seek  first  the  kingdom  of 
God.  It  has  taught  lovers  of  pleasure  to  be- 
come lovers  of  God.  It  has  taught  the  stream 
of  men's  affections  to  run  upwards  instead  of 
running  downwards.  It  has  made  men  think 
of  heaven,  instead  of  always  thinking  of 
earth,  and  life  by  faith,  instead  of  living  by 
sight.  All  this  it  has  done  in  every  part  of 
the  world.  All  this  it  is  doing  still.  What 
are  the  Eomish  miracles  which  weak  men  be- 
lieve, compared  to  all  this,  even  if  they  were 
true?  Those  are  the  truly  great  miracles 
which  are  yearly  worked  by  the  Word. 

The  Bible,  applied  to  the  heart  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  is  the  chief  means  hy  which  men  are 
built  up  and  established  in  the  faith,  after  their 
conversion.  It  is  able  to  cleanse  them,  to 
sanctify  them,  to  instruct  them  in  righteous- 


•--1 


"how   EE^iDEST   THOU?"  187 

ness,  and  to  furnish  them  thoroughly  for  all 
good  works.  The  Spirit  ordinarily  does 
these  things  by  the  written  Word  ;  sometimes 
by  the  Word  read,  and  sometimes  by  the 
Word  preached,  but  seldom,  if  ever,  without 
the  Word.  The  Bible  can  show  a  believer 
how  to  walk  in  this  world  so  as  to  please 
God.  It  can  teach  him  how  to  glorify  Christ 
in  all  the  relations  of  life,  and  can  make 
him  a  good  master,  servant,  subject,  husband, 
father,  or  son.  It  can  enable  him  to  bear 
afflictions  and  privations  without  murmuring, 
and  say,  "  It  is  well."  It  can  enable  him  to 
look  down  into  the  grave,  and  say,  "  I  fear 
no  evil."  It  can  enable  him  to  think  on  judg- 
ment and  eternity,  and  not  feel  afraid.  It  can 
enable  him  to  bear  persecution  without  flinch- 
ing, and  to  give  up  liberty  and  life  rather  than 
deny  Christ's  truth.  Is  he  drowsy  in  soul? — ■ 
It  can  awaken  him.  Is  he  mourning? — It 
can  comfort  him.  Is  he  erring? — It  can 
restore  him.  Is  he  weak  ? — It  can  make  him 
strong.  Is  he  in  company  ? — It  can  keep  him 
from  evil.     Is  he  alone? — It  can  talk  with 


188  "how  eeadest  thou?" 


him.  All  this  the  Bible  can  do  for  all  be- 
lievers,— for  the  least  as  well  as  the  greatest, 
— for  the  richest  as  well  as  the  poorest.  It 
has  done  it  for  thousands  already,  and  is  doing 
it  for  thousands  every  day. 

Eeader,  the  man  who  has  the  Bible,  has 
everything  which  is  absolutely  needful  to 
make  him  spiritually  wise.  He  needs  no  priest 
to  break  the  bread  of  life  for  him.  He  needs  no 
ancient  traditions,  no  writing  of  the  fathers, 
no  voice  of  the  church,  to  guide  him  into  all 
truth.  He  has  the  well  of  truth  open  before 
him,  and  what  can  he  want  more?  Yes  I 
though  he  be  shut  up  alone  in  a  prison,  or 
cast  on  a  desert  island, — though  he  never  see 
a  church,  or  minister,  or  sacrament  again, — if 
he  has  but  the  Bible,  he  has  got  the  infallible 
guide,  and  wants  no  other.  If  he  has  but  the 
will  to  read  that  Bible  rightly,  it  shall  cer- 
tainly teach  him  the  road  that  leads  to  heav- 
en. It  is  here  alone  that  infallibility  resides. 
It  is  not  in  the  church.  It  is  not  in  the 
councils.  It  is  not  in  ministers.  It  is  only 
in  the  written  Word. 


"PIOW   EEADEST   THOU?"  189 

I  know  well  that  many  say  that  they  have 
found  no  saving  power  in  the  Bible.  They 
tell  ns  they  have  tried  to  read  it,  and  have 
learned  nothing  from.  it.  They  can  see  in  it 
nothing  but  hard  and  deep  things.  They  ask 
us  what  we  mean  by  talking  of  its  power. 

I  answer  that  the  Bible  no  doubt  contains 
hard  things,  or  else  it  would  not  be  the  book 
of  God.  It  contains  things  hard  to  compre- 
hend, but  only  hard  because  we  have  not 
grasp  of  mind  to  comprehend  them.  It  con- 
tains things  above  our  reasoning  powers,  but 
nothing  that  might  not  be  explained,  if  the 
eyes  of  our  understanding  were  not  feeble 
and  dim.  But  is  not  an  acknowledgment  of 
our  own  ignorance  the  very  corner-stone  and 
foundation  of  all  knowledge?  Must  not 
many  things  be  taken  for  granted  in  the 
beginning  of  every  science,  before  we  can 
proceed  one  step  towards  acquaintance  with 
it  ?  Do  we  not  require  our  children  to  learn 
many  things  of  which  they  cannot  see  the 
meaning  at  first?  And  ought  we  not  then 
to  expect  to  find  deep  things  when  we  begin 


studying  the  Word  of  God,  and  yet  to  believe 
that  if  we  persevere  in  reading  it,  the  mean- 
ing of  many  of  them  will  one  day  be  made 
clear  ?  No  doubt  we  ought  so  to  expect,  and 
so  to  believe.  We  must  read  with  humility. 
We  must  take  much  on  trust.  We  must  be- 
lieve that  what  we  know  not  now,  we  shall 
know  hereafter,  some  part  in  this  world,  and 
all  in  the  world  to  come. 

But  I  ask  that  man  who  has  given  up  read- 
ing the  Bible,  because  it  contains  hard  things, 
whether  he  did  not  find  many  things  in  it 
easy  and  plain?  I  put  it  to  his  conscience, 
whether  he  did  not  see  great  landmarks  and 
principles  in  it  all  the  way  through  ?  I  ask 
him  whether  the  things  needful  to  salvation 
did  not  stand  out  boldly  before  his  eyes,  like 
the  light-houses  on  English  headlands  from 
the  Land's-end  to  the  mouth  of  the  Thames. 
What  should  we  think  of  the  captain  of  a 
steamer,  who  brought  up  at  night  in  the  en- 
trance of  the  Channel,  on  the  plea  that  he  did 
not  know  every  parish,  and  village,  and  creek, 
along  the  British  coast  ?     Should  we  not  think 


him  a  lazy  coward,  when  the  lights  on  the 
Lizard,  the  Eddystone,  and  the  Stark,  and 
Portland,  and  St.  Catherine's,  and  Beachy 
Head,  and  Dungeness,  and  the  Forelands, 
were  shining  forth  like  so  many  lamps,  to 
guide  him  up  to  the  river  ?  Should  we  not 
say,  why  did  you  not  steer  by  the  great  lead- 
ing lights  ?  And  what  ought  we  to  say  to  the 
man  who  gives  up  reading  the  Bible,  because 
it  contains  hard  things,  when  his  own  state, 
and  the  path  to  heaven,  and  the  way  to  serve 
God,  are  all  written  down  clearly  and  unmis- 
takably, as  with  a  sunbeam?  .  Surely  we 
ought  to  tell  that  man,  that  his  objections  are 
no  better  than  lazy  excuses,  and  do  not  de- 
serve to  be  heard. 

I  know  well  that  many  raise  the  objection, 
that  thousands  read  the  Bible,  and  are  not  a 
whit  the  better  for  their  reading.  And  they 
ask  us,  when  this  is  the  case,  what  becomes  of 
the  Bible's  boasted  power? 

I  answer,  that  the  reason  why  so  many  read 
the  Bible  without  benefit  is  plain  and  simple, 
— they  do  not  read  it  in  the  right  way.   There 


192  "how  readest  thof'?" 

is  generally  a  right  way  and  a  wrong  way  of 
doing  everything  in  the  world  ;  and  just  as  it 
is  with  other  things,  so  it  is  in  the  matter  of 
reading  the  Bible.  The  Bible  is  not  so  en- 
tirely different  from  all  other  Books,  as  to 
make  it  of  no  importance  in  what  spirit  and 
manner  you  read  it.  It  does  not  do  good,  as 
a  matter  of  course,  by  merely  running  our 
eyes  over  the  print,  any  more  than  the  sacra- 
ments do  good  by  mere  virtue  of  our  receiving 
them.  ,  It  does  not  ordinarily  do  good,  unless 
it  is  read  with  humility  and  earnest  prayer. 
The  best  steam-engine  that  was  ever  built,  is 
useless  if  a  man  does  not  know  how  to  work 
it.  The  best  sun-dial  that  was  ever  con- 
structed, will  not  tell  its  owner  the  time  of 
day,  if  he  is  so  ignorant  as  to  put  it  up  in 
the  shade.  Just  as  it  is  with  that  steam-en- 
gine, and  that  sun-dial,  so  it  is  with  the  Bible. 
When  men  read  it  without  profit,  the  fault  is 
not  in  the  hooh^  hut  in  themselves. 

I  tell  the  man  who  doubts  the  power  of 
the  Bible,  because  many  read  it,  and  are  no 
better  for  the  reading,  that  the  abuse  of  a 


''HOW   READEST   THOU?"  193 

thing  is  no  argument  against  the  use  of  it.  I 
tell  him  boldlj,  that  never  did  man  or  woman 
read  that  book  in  a  child-like  persevering 
spirit, — like  the  Ethiopian  eunuch,  and  the 
Bereans, — and  miss  the  way  to  heaven.  Yes  ! 
many  a  broken  cistern  will  be  exposed  to 
shame  in  the  day  of  judgment,  but  there  will 
not  rise  up  one  soul  who  will  be  able  to  say, 
that  he  went  thirsting  to  the  Bible,  and  found 
in  it  no  living  water, — he  searched  for  truth 
in  the  Scriptures,  and  searching  did  not  find 
it.  The  words  which  are  spoken  of  Wisdom 
in  the  Proverbs,  are  strictly  true  of  the  Bible : 
"  If  thou  criest  after  knowledge,  and  liftest 
up  thy  voice,  for  understanding  ;  If  thou  seek- 
est  her  as  silver,  and  searchest  for  her  as  for 
hid  treasures ;  Then  shalt  thou  understand 
the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  find  the  knowledge 
of  God."     (Prov.  ii;  8,  4,  5.) 

Eeader,  this  wonderful  book  is  the  subject 
about  whi(fii  I  address  you  this  day.  Surely 
it  is  no  light  matter  what  you  are  doing  with 
the  Bible.  What  should  you  think  of  the 
man,  who  in  time  of  cholera  despised  a  sure 

13 


194  "how  keadest  thou?" 

receipt  for  preserving  the  health  of  his  body  ? 
What  must  be  thought  of  you,  if  you  despise 
the  only  sure  receipt  for  the  everlasting  health 
of  your  soul  ?  I  charge  you,  I  entreat  you, 
to  give  an  honest  answer  to  my  question. 
What  dost  thou  do  with  the  Bible? — Dost 
thou  read  it?— HOW  EEADEST  THOU? 

VI.  I  ask  in  the  sixth  place,  because  no 
gift  of  God  to  man  is  so  awfully  neglected  and 
misused  as  the  Bible, 

Man  has  an  unhappy  skill  in  abusing  God's 
gifts.  His  privileges,  and  power,  and  faculties, 
are  all  ingeniously  perverted  to  other  ends 
than  those  for  which  they  were  bestowed. 
His  speech,  his  imagination,  his  intellect,  his 
strength,  his  time,  his  influence,  his  money, — 
instead  of  being  used  as  instruments  for  glo- 
rifying his  Maker, — are  generally  employed 
for  his  own  selfish  ends.  And  just  as  man 
naturally  makes  a  bad  use  of  his  ♦other  mer- 
cies, so  he  does  of  the  written  Avord.  One 
sweeping  charge  may  be  brought  against  the 


"how  eeadest  thou?'' 


195 


whole  of  Christendom,  and  that  charge  is 
neglect  and  abuse  of  the  Bible. 

Eeader,  I  know  that  this  charge  sounds  aw- 
ful. Listen  to  me,  and  I  will  give  you  proofs 
to  substantiate  it.  Awful  as  it  is,  it  is  sadly 
true. 

It  is  true  of  the  Eoman  Catholic  Church, 
from  one  end  of  the  world  to  the  other.  For 
six  hundred  years  that  unhappy  church  has 
waged  open  war  with  the  Bible,  and  has  la- 
bored incessantly  to  prevent  people  reading  it. 
By  a  rule  deliberately  passed  in  the  great 
council  of  Trent, — by  the  bulls  of  Popes, — by 
the  encyclical  letters  of  Eomish  bishops, — by 
the  repeated  open  hostility  of  Eomish  priests, 
— the  views  of  the  Church  of  Eome  on  this 
subject  have  been  made  fully  manifest.  Of  all 
the  numerous  and  soul-ruining  errors  of  which 
the  Church  of  Eome  is  guilty,  none  is  more 
mischievous  and  productive  of  evil  than  its 
treatment  of  the  Bible. 

It  is  truly  fearful  to  consider  how  thorough- 
ly at  variance  God  and  the  Church  of  Eome 
are  about  the  Bible.     The  Lord  God  has  de- 


-j 


196  "how  eeadest  thou?" 

clared  positively,  that  Holy  Scripture  is  "  pro- 
fitable,"— that  it  is  "  given  for  our  learning," 
— that  it  is  "  able  to  make  men  wise  unto 
salvation," — that  it  is  "the  sword"  which  a 
soldier  of  Christ  should  be  armed  with, — that 
it  is  "  a  light  for  our  feet," — and  that  all  er- 
rors arise  from  ignorance  of  it.  The  Church 
of  Eome,  on  the  other  hand,  has  declared  pos- 
itively, in  the  council  of  Trent,  that  "  If  the 
Holy  Scripture  be  everywhere  allowed  indis- 
criminately in  the  vulgar  tongue,  more  harm 
than  good  will  arise  from  it," — and  that  "If 
any  one  shall  presume  to  read,  or  possess,  a 
Bible,  without  a  license,  he  shall  not  receive 
absolution,  except  he  first  deliver  it  up  !"  A 
license  to  read  the  Bible !  What  a  blasphe- 
mous insult  is  this  !  It  would  sound  as  well  to 
talk  of  a  license  to  breathe  God's  air,  or  look 
at  God's  sun.  Well  may  the  Church  of  Eome 
be  in  gross  darkness,  when  it  pours  such  con- 
tempt on  the  written  word. 

It  is  useless  to  assert,  as  some  do,  that  state- 
ments such  as  these  are  not  correct.  It  is  use- 
less to  tell  us  that  Bibles  are  openly  paraded 


for  sale  in  Eoman  Catholic  shop  ^vindows,  in 
English  towns.  The  Church  of  Eome  dares 
not  show  itself  yet  in  its  true  colors  in  Eng- 
land. It  winks  at  practices  contrary  to  its 
avowed  principles,  because  it  suits  its  purpose 
to  do  so.  It  throws  dust  in  the  eyes  of  sim- 
ple people,  by  the  appearance  of  toleration ; 
and  so  blinds  them  to  its  real  character.  But 
the  Church  of  Kome  at  heart  is  always  the 
same. 

Ask  any  one  who  has  lived  in  countries  on 
the  Continent,  where  the  power  of  the  Pope 
is  unrestrained,  and  see  what  he  will  tell  you. 
Ask  any  one,  especially,  who  has  lived  in  Italy, 
and  been  at  Eome,  and  seen  Eoman  Catholic 
religion  in  fall  bloom,  and  mark  what  kind  of 
account  he  will  give  you.  If  a  man  would 
know  what  real,  pure  Presbyterianism  is,  he 
must  go  to  Scotland,  If  he  would  know  what 
real,  pure  Church-of-Englandism  is,  he  must 
visit  England.  If  he  would  know  what  real, 
pure,  genuine  Eomanism  is,  he  should  go  to 
Italy  and  Eome. 

Is  it  not  a  fact^  that  to  have  or  read  an  Ital- 


ian  Bible  is  one  of  the  highest  crimes  an  Ital- 
ian can  commit  ?  lie  may  commit  adultery 
and  fornication, — he  may  stab,  or  lie,  or  rob, 
or  swear,  or  cheat, — and  get  absolution  from 
his  priest  without  much  difficulty.  But  woe 
be  to  the  Italian  who  dares  to  have  or  read 
God's  holy  word !  That  fact  speaks  volumes. 
Let  that  fact  be  thoroughly  known  all  over 
the  world. 

Is  it  not  a  fact,  that  the  Bible  itself  cannot 
be  bought  at  Rome,  unless  with  immense  diffi- 
culty, and  at  an  immense  price  ?  You  may 
buy  books  of  many  other  kinds  and  descrip- 
tions, — •  worthless  French  novels,  —  frivolous 
Italian  poetry, — miserable  lying  accounts  of 
pretended  miracles,  done  by  pretended  saints, 
— prayers  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  all  manner 
of  literary  rubbish.  You  may  buy  poisons, 
daggers,  or  intoxicating  drinks.  You  may 
buy  relics,  and  rosaries,  and  scapulars,  and 
crucifixes.  You  may  buy  masses  and  services, 
and  redeem  your  father's  soul  from  purgatory. 
But  one  thing  it  is  almost  impossible  to  buy, 
and  that  is  the  one  thing  needful, — the  writ- 


"how  readest  thou?"  199 

ten  word  of  God.  You  may  easily  buy  all 
means  and  appliances  for  doing  the  works  of 
darkness.  You  cannot  buy  the  grand  help 
for  doing  the  works  of  light,  except  at  an  en- 
ormous cost.  That  fact  alone  speaks  volumes. 
Oh !  that  the  world  would  awake,  and  know 
it !  THE  BIBLE  IS  PEACTICALLY  A 
FORBIDDEN  BOOK  AT  ROME. 

Ah !  reader,  it  is  an  awful  thought,  that  all 
these  insults  to  the  Bible  are  perpetrated  in 
the  name  of  Christianity !  It  is  an  awful 
thought,  that  a  day  of  reckoning  is  yet  to 
come,  and  that  God  the  Judge  of  all  is  just  as 
jealous  about  His  word,  as  about  His  name 
and  day  !  It  is  an  awful  thought,  that  even 
the  Emperor  of  China  will  rise  up  in  judgment 
with  the  Pope,  and  condemn  him ;  for  he  has 
lately  decreed  that  the  New  Testament  is  a 
profitable  book,  and  may  be  read !  It  is  an 
awful  thought,  that  this  Bible  -  proscribing 
Church  of  Rome  contains  more  members  than 
any  Church  in  the  world !  Surely  I  have  a 
right  to  say,  no  gift  of  God  is  so  neglected 
and  misused  as  the  Bible. 


But  the  Churcli  of  Rome,  unhappily,  is  not 
the  only  professedly  Christian  Church  whose 
members  are  guilty  in  this  matter.  The  charge 
of  neglecting  the  Bible  is  one  which  may  be 
brought  home  to  the  members  of  Protestant 
churches  also,  and  among  others  to  the  Pro- 
testants of  England  and  Scotland  in  the  pre- 
sent day. 

I  write  this  statement  down  with  sorrow. 
I  dare  say  it  will  be  received  by  some  with 
surprise,  if  not  with  incredulity.  But  I  write 
it  down  calmly  and  deliberately,  and  I  am  cer- 
tain it  is  true. 

I  am  well  aware  that  there  are  more  Bibles 
in  Great  Britain  at  this  moment  than  there 
ever  were  since  the  world  began.  There  is 
more  Bible  buying  and  Bible  selling, — more 
Bible  printing  and  Bible  distributing, — than 
ever  was  since  England  was  a  nation.  We 
see  Bibles  in  every  bookseller's  shop, — Bibles 
of  every  size,  price,  and  style, — Bibles  great, 
and  Bibles  small,  —  Bibles  for  the  rich,  and 
Bibles  for  the  poor.  But  all  this  time  I  fear 
we  are  in  danger  of  forgetting,  that  to  have 


the  Bible  is  one  thing,  and  to  read  it  is  quite 
another. 

I  am  firmly  persuaded  that  the  Bible  of 
many  a  man  and  woman  in  Great  Britain  is 
never  read  at  all.  In  one  house  it  lies  in  a  cor- 
ner, stiff,  cold,  glossy,  and  fresh  as  it  was  when 
it  came  from  the  bookseller's  shop.  In  an- 
other it  lies  on  a  table,  with  its  owner's  name 
written  in  it, — a  silent  witness  against  him  day 
after  day.  In  another  it  lies  on  some  high 
shelf,  neglected  and  dusty,  to  be  brought  down 
only  on  grand  occasions, — such  as  a  birth  in 
the  family, — like  a  heathen  idol  at  its  yearly 
festival.  In  another  it  lies  deep  down  at  the 
bottom  of  some  box  or  drawer, — among  the 
things  not  wanted, — and  is  never  "dragged 
forth  into  the  light  of  day,  until  the  arrival  of 
sickness,  the  doctor,  and  death.  Ah  1  these 
things  are  sad  and  solemn.  But  they  are 
true. 

I  am  firmly  persuaded  that  many  in  Great 
Britain  who  read  the  Bible,  do  not  read  it  aright. 
One  man  looks  over  a  chapter  on  Sunday  even- 
ing,— but  that  is  all.    Another  reads  a  chapter 


every  day  to  his  servants  at  family  prayers, 
— but  that  is  all.  A  third  goes  a  step  further, 
and  hastily  reads  a  verse  or  two  in  private 
every  morning,  before  he  goes  out  of  his  house. 
A  fourth  goes  further  still,  and  reads  as  much 
as  a  chapter  or  two  every  day,  though  he  does 
it  in  a  great  hurry,  and  omits  it  on  the  small- 
est pretext.  But  each  and  every  one  of  these 
men  does  what  he  does  in  a  heartless,  scram- 
bling, formal  kind  of  way.  He  does  it  coldly 
as  a  duty.  He  does  not  do  4t  with  appetite 
and  pleasure.  He  is  glad  when  the  task  is 
over.  He  forgets  it  all  when  the  book  is  shut. 
Oh !  what  a  sad  picture  is  this !  But  in  mul- 
titudes of  cases,  oh !  how  true  ! 

But  how  do  I  know  all  this  ?  What  makes 
me  speak  so  confidently?  Listen  to  me  a  few 
moments,  and  I  will  lay  before  you  some  evi- 
dence. Neglect  of  the  Bible  is  like  disease  of 
the  body.  It  shows  itself  in  the  face  of  a 
man's  conduct.  It  tells  its  own  tale.  It  can- 
not be  hid. 

I  am  sure  that  many  neglect  the  Bible,  he- 
cause  of  the  enormous  ignorance  of  true  religion 


"how  eeadest  thou?'  203 


which  everywhere  'prevails.  There  are  thou- 
sands of  professing  Christians  in  this  Protest- 
ant country  who  know  literally  nothing  about 
the  Gospel.  They  could  not  give  you  the 
slightest  account  of  its  distinctive  doctrines. 
They  have  no  more  idea  of  the  meaning  of 
conversion,  grace,  faith,  justification,  and  sanc- 
tification,  than  of  so  many  words  and  names 
in  Arabic.  If  you  were  to  ask  them  whether 
regeneration,  and  the  new  creature,  were  a 
beast,  a  man,  or  a  doctrine,  they  could  not  tell. 
And  can  I  suppose  such  persons  read  the  Scrip- 
tures ?  I  cannot  suppose  it.  I  do  not  believe 
they  do. 

I  am  sure  that  many  neglect  the  Bible,  he- 
cause  of  the  utter  indifference  with  which  they  re- 
gard false  doctrine.  They  will  talk  with  perfect 
coolness  of  others  having  become  Eoman  Ca- 
tholics, or  Socinians,  or  Mormonites,  as  if  it 
were  all  the  same  thing  in  the  long  run.  And 
can  I  suppose  such  persons  search  the  Scrip- 
tures? I  cannot  suppose  it.  I  do  not  believe 
they  do. 

i  am  sure  that  many  neglect  the  Bible,  he- 


204  "how  eeadest  thou?" 

cause  of  the  readiness  with  which  they  receive  false 
doctrines.  They  are  led  astray  by  the  first 
preacher  of  lies  they  meet  with,  who  has  a 
pleasant  voice,  a  nice  manner,  and  a  gift  of 
eloquent  speech.  They  swallow  all  he  says 
without  enquiry,  and  believe  him  as  implicitly 
as  the  Papists  do  the  Pope.  And  can  I  sup- 
pose such  persons  search  the  Scriptures  ?  I 
cannot  suppose  it.     I  do  not  believe  they  do. 

I  am  sure  that  many  neglect  the  Bible,  he- 
cause  of  the  bitterness  with  which  they  contend  for 
some  little  secondary  unimportant  point  in  religion. 
They  make  a  "Shibboleth"  of  their  own  little 
cherished  point,  and  are  ready  to  set  down 
every  one  as  no  Christian,  if  he  does  not  see 
it  with  their  eyes.  And  can  I  suppose  such 
persons  really  search  the  whole  Scriptures  ? 
I  cannot  suppose  it.     I  do  not  believe  they  do. 

I  am  sure  that  many  neglect  the  Bible,  he- 
cause  of  the  very  scanty  knowledge  they  have  of  its 
contents.  They  know  a  certain  set  of  doctrines. 
They  can  repeat  a  certain  string  of  hackneyed 
texts.  Bat  they  never  seem  to  get  beyond 
this  little  string.      Let  a  man  talk  to  them 


about  some  text  out  of  their  beaten  path,  and 
be  is  at  once  out  of  their  depth.  They  listen, 
but  have  nothing  to  say.  Let  a  minister  preach 
to  them  anything  but  the  merest  elements  of 
Christianity,  and  they  appear  shocked  at  him 
as  a  rash  and  unsound  teacher.  In  short,  they 
seem  content  to  remain  in  the  condition  de- 
scribed by  St.  Paul  to  the  Hebrews,  always 
unskilful  in  the  word  of  righteousness, — al- 
ways in  a  state  of  religious  babyhood.  And 
can  I  suppose  such  persons  really  search  the 
Scriptures  ?  I  cannot  suppose  it.  I  do  not 
believe  they  do. 

I  am  sure  that  many  neglect  the  Bible,  he- 
cause  of  the  lives  they  live.  They  do  the  very 
things  that  God  plainly  forbids.  They  neglect 
the  very  things  that  God  plainly  commands. 
They  break  God's  laws  week  after  week  with- 
out shame.  And  can  I  suppose  such  persons 
search  the  Scriptures  ?  I  allow  that  much 
knowledge  of  the  Bible  and  much  wickedness 
of  heart  may  sometimes  be  found  together. 
But  when  I  see  a  wicked  life,  I  generally  be- 
lieve there  is  a  neo-lected  Bible. 


I  am  sure  tliat  many  neglect  tb^  Bible,  he- 
cause  of  the  deaths  they  die.  Tbej  send  for  a 
minister  in  tbeir  last  moments,  and  ask  for  tbe 
consolations  of  religion.  And  in  wbat  state 
are  they  found  ?  They  know  nothing  what- 
ever of  the  way  of  salvation.  They  have  to 
be  told  which  are  the  first  principles  of  the 
Gospel  of  Christ.  And  can  I  suppose  such 
persons  have  searched  the  Scriptures  ?  I  can- 
not suppose  it.     I  do  not  believe  they  have. 

I  bring  forward  all  this  evidence  with  sor- 
row. I  know  well  it  will  be  offensive  to  some. 
But  I  believe  I  have  stated  nothing  but  glar- 
ing facts,  which  every  true  Christian  and  true 
minister  of  Christ's  Gospel  will  readily  con- 
firm. And  I  say  that  these  facts  prove  the 
existence  of  a  sore  evil  in  Great  Britain. — I 
mean  a  neglected  Bible.  These  things  would 
never  be,  if  the  Bible  was  thoroughly  read  by 
many,  as  well  d,^  possessed. 

Ah!  reader,  it  is  a  painful  thought,  that 
there  should  be  so  much  profession  of  love  to 
the  Bible  among  uS;  and  so  little  proof  that 
the  Bible  is  read  I     Here  we  are,  as  a  nation. 


"how  eeadest  thotj?"  207 

pluming  ourselves  on  our  Protestantism,  and 
yet  neglecting  the  foundation  on  whicli  Pro- 
testantism is  built !  Here  we  are,  thanking 
God  with  our  lips,  like  the  Pharisee,  that  we 
are  not  Papists,  as  some  are,  and  yet  dishonor- 
ing God's  word  !  It  is  an  awful  thought,  that 
the  people  of  this  country  will  be  judged  ac- 
cording to  their  light,  and  that  so  many  of 
them  should  be  keeping  that  light  under  a 
bushel !  Truly  I  have  cause  for  saying,  no 
gift  of  God  is  so  neglected  as  the  Bible. 

Eeader,  this  neglected  book  is  the  subject 
about  which  I  address  you  this  day.  Surely 
it  is  no  light  matter  what  you  are  doing  with 
the  Bible.  Surely  when  the  plague  is  abroad, 
you  should  search  and  see  whether  the  plague- 
spot  is  on  you.  I  charge  you,  I  entreat  you, 
to  give  an  honest  answer  to  my  question. — 
"What  art  thou  doing  with  the  Bible  ?  Dost 
thou  read  it?     HOW  EEADEST  THOU? 

yil.  I  ask  in  the  seventh  place,  because 
the  Bible  is  the  only  rule  hy  lohich  all  questions  of 
doctrine  or  of  duty  can  he  tried. 


208  ^'nOW   READEST   THOU?" 

The  Lord  God  knows  the  weakness  and  in- 
firmity of  our  poor  fallen  understandings.  He 
knows  that,  even  after  conversion,  our  per- 
ceptions of  right  and  wrong  are  exceedingly 
indistinct.  He  knows  how  artfully  Satan  can 
gild  error  with  an  appearance  of  truth,  and 
can  dress  up  wrong  with  plausible  arguments, 
till  it  looks  like  right.  Knowing  all  this.  He 
has  mercifully  provided  us  with  an  unerring 
standard  of  truth  and  error,  right  and  wrong, 
and  has  taken  care  to  make  that  standard  a 
written  book, — even  the  Scripture. 

Ko  one  can  look  round  the  world,  and  not 
see  the  wisdom  of  such  a  provision.  'No  one 
can  live  long,  and  not  find  out  that  he  is  con- 
stantly in  need  of  a  counsellor  and  adviser, — 
of  a  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  on  which  he 
can  depend.  Unless  he  lives  like  a  beast, 
without  a  soul  and  conscience,  he  will  find 
himself  constantly  assailed  by  difficult  and 
puzzling  questions.  He  will  be  often  asking 
himself.  What  must  I  believe  ?  and  what  must 
I  do? 

The  world  is  full  of  difficulties  about  points 


"how  eeadest  THor?"  209 

of  doctrine.  The  house  of  error  lies  close 
alongside  the  house  of  truth.  The  door  of 
one  is  so  like  the  door  of  the  other,  that  there 
is  continual  risk  of  mistakes. 

Does  a  man  read  or  travel  much  ?  He  will 
soon  find  the  most  opposite  opinions  prevail- 
ing among  those  who  are  called  Christians. 
He  will  discover  that  different  persons  give 
the  most  different  answers  to  the  important 
question,  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  The 
Eoman  Catholic  and  the  Protestant, — the 
Neologian  and  the  Tractarian, — The  Mormon- 
ite  and  the  Swedenborgian, — each  and  all  will 
assert  that  he  alone  has  the  truth.  Each  and 
all  will  tell  him  that  safety  is  to  be  found  in 
his  party.  Each  and  all  say,  "  Come  with  us." 
All  this  is  puzzling.     What  shall  a  man  do  ? 

Does  he  settle  down  quietly  in  some  Eng- 
lish or  Scotch  parish  ?  He  will  soon  find  that 
even  in  our  own  land  the  most  conflicting 
views  are  held.  He  will  soon  discover  that 
there  are  serious  differences  among  Christians, 
as  to  the  comparative  importance  of  the  va- 
rious parts  and  articles  of  the  faith.    One  man 


thinks  of  nothing  but  Church  government, — 
another  of  nothing  but  sacraments,  services, 
and  forms, — a  third  of  nothing  but  preaching 
the  Gospel.  Does  he  apply  to  ministers  for  a 
solution?  He  will  perhaps  find  one  minister 
teaching  one  doctrine,  and  another  another. 
Does  he  go  to  the  Bishops  for  help  ?  He  will 
find  what  one  Bishop  says  is  right,  another 
says  is  wrong.  All  this  is  puzzling.  What 
shall  a  man  do  ? 

There  is  only  one  answer  to  this  question. 
A  man  must  make  the  Bible  alone  his  rule. 
He  must  receive  nothing,  and  believe  nothing, 
which  is  not  according  to  the  word.  He 
must  try  all  religious  teaching  by  one  simple 
test, — Does  it  square  with  the  Bible  ? — What 
saith  the  Scripture  ? 

I  would  to  God  the  eyes  of  the  laity  of  this 
country  were  more  open  on  this  subject.  I 
would  to  God  they  would  learn  to  weigh  ser- 
mons, books,  opinions,  and  ministers,  in  the 
scales  of  the  Bible,  and  to  value  all  according 
to  their  conformity  to  the  word.  I  would  to 
God  they  would  see  that  it  matters  little  who 


sajs  a  thing, — whether  he  be  Father  or  Re- 
former,—  Bishop  or  Archbishop, — Priest  or 
Deacon, — Archdeacon  or  Dean.  The  onl}^ 
question  is, — Is  the  thing  said  Scriptural  ?  If 
it  is,  it  ought  to  be  received  and  believed.  If 
it  is  not,  it  ought  to  be  refused  and  cast  aside. 
I  fear  the  consequences  of  that  servile  accept- 
ance of  everything  which  the  parson  says, 
which  is  so  common  among  many  English  lay- 
men. I  fear  lest  they  be  led  they  know  not 
whither,  like  the  blinded  Syrians,  and  awake 
some  day  to  find  themselves  in  the  power  of 
Rome.  Oh !  that  men  in  England  would  only 
remember  for  what  the  Bible  was  given 
them! 

I  tell  English  laymen  that  it  is  nonsense  to 
say,  as  some  do,  that  it  is  presumptuous  to 
judge  a  minister's  teaching  by  the  word. 
When  one  doctrine  is  proclaimed  in  one  parish, 
and  another  in  another,  people  must  read  and 
judge  for  themselves.  Both  doctrines  cannot 
be  right,  and  both  ought  to  be  tried  by  the 
word.  I  charge  them  above  all  things,  never 
to  suppose  that  any  true  minister  of  the  Gos- 


pel  will  dislike  his  people  measuring  all  lie 
teaches  by  the  Bible.  On  the  contrary,  the 
more  they  read  the  Bible,  and  prove  all  he 
says  by  the  Bible,  the  better  he  will  be  pleas- 
ed. A  false  minister  may  say,  "  You  have  no 
right  to  use  your  private  judgment :  leave  the 
Bible  to  us  who  are  ordained."  A  true  min- 
ister will  say,  "  Search  the  Scriptures,  and  if  I 
do  not  teach  you  what  is  Scriptural,  do  not  be- 
lieve me."  A  false  minister  may  say,  "  Hear 
the  Church,"  and  "  Hear  me."  A  true  minis- 
ter will  say,  ''  Hear  the  word  of  God." 

But  the  world  is  not  only  full  of  difficulties 
about  points  of  doctrine.  It  is  equally  full  of 
difficulties  about  points  of  ])ractice.  Every 
professing  Christian,  who  wishes  to  act  con- 
scientiously, must  know  that  it  is  so.  The 
most  puzzling  questions  are  continually  aris- 
ing. He  is  tried  on  every  side  by  doubts  as 
to  the  line  of  duty,  and  can  often  hardly  see 
what  is  the  right  thing  to  do. 

He  is  tried  by  questions  connected  with  the 
management  of  his  worldly  calling,  if  he  is  in 
business  or   in   trade.      He    sometimes    sees 


things  going  on  of  a  very  doubtful  character, 
— things  that  can  hardly  be  called  fair, 
straightforward,  truthful,  and  doing  as  you 
would  be  done  by.  But  then  everybody  in 
the  trade  does  these  things.  They  have  al- 
ways been  done  in  the  most  respectable  houses. 
There  would  be  no  carrying  on  a  profitable 
business  if  they  were  not  done.  They  are  not 
things  distinctly  named  and  prohibited  by 
God.  All  this  is  very  puzzling.  What  is  a 
man  to  do? 

He  is  tried  by  questions  of  a  political  kind, 
if  he  occupies  a  high  position  in  life.  He  finds 
that  men  do  things  in  their  public  capacity, 
which  they  would  not  think  of  doing  in  their 
private  one.  He  finds  that  men  are  expected 
to  sacrifice  their  own  judgment,  private  opin- 
ion, and  conscience,  to  the  interests  of  their 
own  party,  and  to  believe  that  the  acts  of  their 
own  political  friends  are  always  right,  and  the 
acts  of  their  political  opponents  always  wrong. 
All  this  is  puzzling.     What  is  a  man  to  do  ? 

He  is  tried  by  questions  in  the  matter  of 
speaking  truth.    He  hears  things  said  continu- 


214  "how  keadest  thou?" 

allv  whicli  lie  knows  are  not  correct.  He 
hears  a  false  coloring  put  on  stories,  which  he 
knows  ought  to  wear  a  different  aspect.  He  sees 
additions  to,  and  subtractions  from  the  whole 
truth.  He  sees  evasions,  and  equivocations, 
and  concealments  of  facts  in  every  class  of 
society,  when  self  interests  are  at  stake.  He 
hears  false  compliments  paid,  and  false  excuses 
alleged,  and  false  characters  given.  But  then 
it  is  the  way  of  the  world.  Everybody  does 
so.  Nobody  means  any  harm  by  it.  All  this 
is  very  puzzling.     What  is  he  to  do? 

He  is  tried  by  questions  about  Sabbath  ob- 
servance. Can  there  really  be  any  harm  in 
travelling,  or  writing  letters,  or  keeping  ac- 
counts, or  reading  newspapers  on  Sunday  ?  Is 
it  wrong  to  take  a  situation  on  a  railway, 
merely  because  the  Sunday  traf&c  would  al- 
most entirely  keep  him  away  from  public  wor- 
ship ?  Would  it  be  wrong  to  open  the  Crystal 
Palace  at  Sydenham  on  Sundays?  Is  not 
Christianity  a  religion  of  liberty  ?  Do  not 
many  learned,  and  respectable,  and  titled  peo- 
ple think  that  Sunday  should  be  a  day  for  re- 


.._J 


creation  ?  All  this  is  very  puzzling.  What 
is  a  man  to  do  ? 

He  is  tried  by  questions  about  worldly 
amusements.  Eaces,  and  balls,  and  operas, 
and  theatres,  and  card  parties,  are  all  very 
doubtful  methods  of  spending  time.  But  then 
he  sees  numbers  of  great  people  taking  part 
in  them.  Are  all  these  people  wrong  ?  Can 
there  really  be  such  mighty  harm  in  these 
things  ?  All  this  is  very  puzzling.  What  is 
a  man  to  do  ? 

He  is  tried  by  questions  about  the  education 
of  his  children.  He  wishes  to  train  them  up 
morally  and  rehgiously,  and  to  remember  their 
souls.  But  he  is  told  by  many  sensible  people 
that  young  persons  will  be  young, — that  it 
does  not  do  to  check  and  restrain  them  too 
much,  and  that  he  ought  to  attend  panto- 
mimes and  children's  parties,  and  give  chil- 
dren's balls  himself.  He  is  informed  that  this 
nobleman  or  that  lady  of  rank,  always  does 
so,  and  yet  they  are  reckoned  religious  people. 
Surely  it  cannot  be  wrong.  All  this  is  very 
puzzling.     What  is  he  to  do  ? 


216  "how  eeadest  thotj?" 

He  is  tried  by  questions  about  reading.  He 
does  not  wish  to  read  what  is  really  bad,  and 
has  not  time  for  much  reading  beside  the 
Bible.  Ought  he,  or  ought  he  not,  to  read 
such  things  as  sceptical  writings,  or  French 
novels,  or  semi-popish  poetry  ?  Can  there 
really  be  much  harm  in  it  ?  Do  not  many 
persons,  as  good  as  himself,  read  these  things  ? 
And  after  all,  the  Bible  has  not  expressly  for- 
bidden Emerson  or  Eugene  Sue.  All  this  is 
very  puzzling.     What  is  he  to  do  ? 

There  is  only  one  ansvtrer  to  all  these  ques- 
tions. A  man  must  make  the  Bible  his  rule 
of  conduct.  He  must  make  its  leading  prin- 
ciples the  compass  by  which  he  steers  his 
course  through  life.  By  the  letter  or  spirit  of 
the  Bible  he  must  test  every  difficult  point  and 
question.  To  the  law  and  to  the  testimony  ! 
What  saith  the  Scripture  ?  He  ought  to  care 
nothing  for  what  other  people  may  think  right. 
He  ought  not  to  set  his  watch  by  the  clock 
of  his  neighbor,  but  by  the  sun-dial  of  the 
word. 

Eeader,  I  charge  you  solemnly  to  act  on  the 


"how  keadest  thou?"  217 

maxim  I  have  just  laid  down,  and  to  adhere 
to  it  rigidly  all  the  days  of  your  life.  You 
will  never  repent  of  it.  Make  it  a  leading 
principle  never  to  act  contrary  to  the  word. 
Care  not  for  the  charge  of  over-strictness,  and 
needless  precision.  Remember,  you  serve  a 
strict  and  holy  God.  Listen  not  to  the  com- 
mon objection,  that  the  rule  you  have  laid 
down  is  impossible,  and  cannot  be  observed  in 
such  a  world  as  this.  Let  those  who  make 
such  an  objection  speak  out  plainly,  and  tell 
us  for  what  the  Bible  was  given  to  man.  Let 
them  remember  that  by  the  Bible  we  shall 
all  be  judged  at  the  last  day,  and  let  them 
learn  to  judge  themselves  by  it  here,  lest 
they  be  judged  and  condemned  by  it  here- 
after. 

Reader,  this  mighty  rule  of  faith  and  prac- 
tice is  the  book  about  which  I  am  addressing 
you  this  day.  Surely  it  is  no  light  matter 
what  you  are  doing  with  the  Bible.  Surely 
when  danger  is  abroad  on  the  right  hand  and 
on  the  left,  you  should  consider  what  you  are 
doing  with  the  safe-guard  which  God  has  pro- 


vided.  I  charge  yon,  I  beseecli  you,  to  give 
an  honest  answer  to  my  question.  What  are 
you  doing  with  the  Bible  ? — Do  you  read  it  ? 
HOW  KEADEST  THOU? 

yill.  I  ask  in  the  next  place,  because  the 
Bible  is  the  hook  which  all  true  servants  of  God 
have  always  lived  on  and  loved. 

Every  living  thing  which  God  creates  re- 
quires food.  The  life  that  God  imparts  needs 
sustaining  and  nourishing.  It  is  so  with  ani- 
mal and  vegetable  life,' — with  birds,  beasts, 
fishes,  reptiles,  insects,  and  plants.  It  is 
equally  so  with  spiritual  life.  When  the  Holy 
Ghost  raises  a  man  from  the  death  of  sin,  and 
makes  him  a  new  creature  in  Christ  Jesus,  the 
new  principle  in  that  man's  heart  requires  food, 
and  the  only  food  which  will  sustain  it  is  the 
word  of  God. 

There  never  was  a  man  or  woman  converted, 
from  one  end  of  the  world  to  the  other,  who 
did  not  love  the  revealed  will  of  God.  .  Just 
as  a  child  born  into  the  world  desires  naturally 
the  milk  provided  for  its  nourishment,  so  does 
a  soul  born  again  desire  the  sincere  milk  of 


"hoav  readest  thou?"  219 

the  word.  This  is  a  common  mark  of  all  the 
children  of  God, — they  delight  in  the  law  of 
the  Lord. 

Show  me  a  person  who  despises  Bible  read- 
ing, or  thinks  little  of  Bible  preaching,  and  I 
hold  it  to  be  a  certain  fact  that  he  is  not  yet 
born  again.  He  may  be  zealous  about  forms 
and  ceremonies.  He  may  be  diligent  in  at- 
tending sacraments  and  daily  services.  But 
if  these  things  are  more  precious  to  him  than 
the  Bible,  I  cannot  think  he  is  a  converted 
man.  Tell  me  what  the  Bible  is  to  a  man, 
and  I  will  generally  tell  you  what  he  is.  This 
is  the  pulse  to  try, — this  is  the  barometer  to 
look  at, — if  we  would  know  the  state  of  the 
heart.  I  have  no  notion  of  the  Spirit  dwell- 
ing in  a  man,  and  not  giving  clear  evidence 
of  His  presence.  And  I  believe  it  to  be  a 
signal  evidence  of  the  Spirit's  presence,  when 
the  word  is  really  precious  to  a  man's 
soul. 

Love  to  the  word  is  one  of  the  characteris- 
tics we  see  in  Job.  Little  as  we  know  of  this 
Patriarch  and  his  age,  this  at  least  stands  out 


220  "how  readest  thou?" 

clearly.  He  says,  ''I  have  esteemed  the  words 
of  his  mouth  more  than  my  necessary  food." 
(Job,  xxiii.  12.) 

Love  to  the  word  is  a  shining  feature  in  the 
character  of  David.  Mark  how  it  appears  all 
through  that  wonderful  part  of  Scripture,  the 
cxixth  Psalm.  He  might  well  say,  "  Oh  !  how 
I  love  thy  law." 

Love  to  the  word  is  a  striking  point  in  the 
character  of  St.  Paul.  What  were  he  and  his 
companions  but  men  mighty  in  the  Scriptures? 
What  were  his  sermons  but  expositions  and 
applications  of  the  word  ? 

Love  to  the  word  appears  pre-eminently  in 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  He  read  it 
publicly.  He  quoted  it  continually.  He  ex- 
pounded it  frequently.  He  advised  the  Jews 
to  search  it.  He  used  it  as  His  weapon  to  re- 
sist the  devil.  He  said  repeatedly  "  The 
Scripture  must  be  fulfilled." — Almost  the  last 
thing  He  did  was  to  open  the  understanding 
of  His  disciples,  that  they  might  understand 
the  Scriptures.  Ah !  reader,  that  man  can 
be  no  true  servant  of  Christ,  who  has  not 


"how  readest  THor?"  221 

something  of  his  Master's  mind  and  feeling 
toward  the  Bible. 

Love  to  the  word  has  been  a  prominent 
feature  in  the  history  of  all  the  saints,  of  whom 
we  know  anything,  since  the  days  of  the  apos- 
tles. This  is  the  lamp  which  Athanasius,  and 
Chrvsostom,  and  Ano-ustine  followed.  This  is 
the  compass  which  kept  the  Vallenses  and  Al- 
bigenses  from  making  shipwreck  of  the  faith. 
This  is  the  well  which  was  re-opened  by  Wy- 
cliffe  and  Luther,  after  it  had  been  long  stop- 
ped up.  This  is  the  sword  with  which  Lati- 
mer, and  Jewell,  and  Knox  won  their  victo- 
ries. This  is  the  manna  which  fed  Baxter, 
and  Owen,  and  the  noble  host  of  the  Puritans, 
and  made  them  strong  to  battle.  This  is  the 
armory  from  which  Whitefield  and  Wesley 
drew  their  powerful  weapons.  This  is  the 
mine  from  which  Bickersteth  and  M'Cheyne 
brought  forth  rich  gold.  Differing  as  these  holy 
men  did  in  some  matters,  on  one  point  they 
were  all  agreed, — they  all  delighted  in  the  word. 

Love  to  the  word  is  one  of  the  first  things 
that  appears  in  the  converted  heathen,  at  the 


various  Missionary  stations  througliout  the 
world.  In  hot  climates  and  in  cold, — among 
savage  people  and  among  civilized, — in  New 
Zealand,  in  the  South  Sea  Islands,  in  Africa, 
in  Hindostan, — it  is  always  the  same.  They 
enjoy  hearing  it  read.  They  long  to  be  able 
to  read  it  themselves.  They  wonder  why 
Christians  did  not  send  it  to  them  before.  How 
striking  is  the  picture  which  Moffat  draws  of 
Africaner,  the  fierce  South  African  chieftain, 
when  first  brought  under  the  power  of  the 
Gospel !  "  Often  have  I  seen  him,"  he  says, 
"  under  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  nearly  the 
live-long  day,  eagerly  perusing  the  pages  of 
the  Bible."  How  touching  is  the  expression 
of  a  poor  converted  negro,  speaking  of  the 
Bible  !  He  said,  "It  is  never  old  and  never 
cold."  How  affecting  was  the  language  of 
another  old  Negro,  when  some  would  have 
dissuaded  him  from  learning  to  read,  because 
of  his  great  age.  "No!"  he  said,  "I  will 
never  give  it  up  till  I  die.  It  is  worth  all  the 
labor  to  be  able  to  read  that  one  verse,  '  God 
so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  be- 


gotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life.' " 

Love  to  the  Bible  is  one  of  the  grand  points 
of  agreement  among  all  converted  men  and 
women  in  our  own  land.  Episcopalians  and 
Presbyterians,  Baptists  and  Independents,  Me- 
thodists and  Plymouth  Brethren, — all  unite  in 
honoring  the  Bible,  as  soon  as  they  are  real 
Christians.  This  is  the  manna  which  all  the 
tribes  of  our  Israel  feed  upon,  and  find  satisfy- 
ing food.  This  is  the  fountain  round  which 
all  the  various  portions  of  Christ's  flock  meet 
together,  and  from  which  no  sheep  goes  thirsty 
away.  Oh !  that  believers  in  this  country 
would  learn  to  cleave  more  closely  to  the 
written  word  I  Oh  !  that  they  would  see  that 
the  more  the  Bible,  and  the  Bible  only,  is  the 
substance  of  men's  religion,  the  more  they 
agree !  It  is  probable  there  never  was  an 
uninspired  book  more  universally  admired 
than  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress.  It  is  a 
book  which  all  denominations  of  Christians 
delight  to  honor.  It  has  won  praise  from  all 
parties.     Now  what  a  striking  fact  it  is,  that 


the  author  was  pre-eminently  a  man  of  one 
book  I  He  had  read  hardly  anything  but  the 
Bible. 

Away  with  the  foolish  idea,  that  making 
the  Bible  alone  the  rule  of  faith  hinders  unity, 
and  that  those  who  profess  to  glory  in  the 
Bible,  and  nothing  but  the  Bible,  are  hopeless- 
ly divided!  It  is  a  weak  invention  of  the 
enemy.  It  is  a  base  calumny.  Ko  doubt  there 
is  much  dissension  and  party  spirit  among 
mere  outward  professors  ;  but  among  the  great 
bulk  of  believing  Protestants  there  is  a  won- 
derful amount  of  unity, — real,  thorough,  and 
deep,  far  deeper  than  the  boasted  unity  of 
Rome.  Their  differences  are  merely  about  the 
outward  trappings  of  Christianity.  About  the 
body  of  the  faith  they  are  all  agreed.  Their 
differences  are  studiously  exaggerated  by  the 
enemies  of  true  religion.  Their  points  of  agree- 
ment,— such  as  the  "  Harmony  of  Protestant 
Confessions"  exhibits,  are  studiously  kept  out 
of  sight.  Their  differences  are  differences 
which  in  times  of  common  danger  are  soon 
forgotten.     Their  unity  is  an  unity  which  in 


front  of  sin,  heathenism,  and  persecution, 
stands  boldly  out.  Eidley  and  Hooper  forgot 
tlieir  old  disagreements  when  they  found  them- 
selves in  Queen  Mary's  prisons.  Churchmen 
and  Nonconformists  laid  aside  their  quarrels 
when  James  II.  tried  to  bring  back  Popery  to 
England.  Protestant  missionaries,  of  different 
denominations,  find  they  can  work  and  pray 
together,  when  they  are  in  the  midst  of  idola- 
ters. Protestant  believers  in  London  have 
proved  to  the  world  that  they  can  agree  to 
labor  together  for  the  conversion  of  souls,  by 
maintaining  that  glorious  Institution,  the  Lon- 
don City  Mission.  And  what  is  the  secret  of 
all  this  deep-seated  unity  ?  It  comes  from 
this, — that  all  believers  on  earth  are  not  only 
born  of  one  Spirit,  but  also  read  one  holy  book, 
and  feed  on  the  bread  of  one  Bible. 

Ah!  reader,  it  is  a  blessed  thought  that 
there  will  be  "  much  people"  in  heaven  at  last. 
Few  as  the  Lord's  people  undoubtedly  are  at 
any  one  given  time  or  place,  yet  all  gathered 
together  at  last,  they  will  be  "  a  multitude  that 
no  man  can  number."     They  will  be  of  one 

16 


226  "how  readest  thou?" 

heart  and  mind.  They  will  have  passed 
through  like  experience.  They  will  all  have 
repented,  believed,  lived  holy,  prayerfal,  and 
humble.  They  will  all  have  washed  their 
robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb.  But  one  thing  beside  all  this  they 
will  have  in  common.  They  will  all  love  the 
texts  and  doctrines  of  the  Bible.  The  Bible 
will  have  been  their  food  and  delight,  in  the 
days  of  their  pilgrimage  on  earth.  And  the 
Bible  will  be  a  common  subject  of  joyful  medi- 
tation and  retrospect,  when  they  are  gathered 
together  in  heaven. 

Eeader,  this  book,  which  all  true  Christians 
live  upon  and  love,  is  the  subject  about  which 
I  am  addressing  you  this  day.  Surely  it  is 
no  light  matter  what  you  are  doing  with  the 
Bible.  Surely  it  is  a  matter  for  serious  in- 
quiry, whether  you  know  anything  of  this 
love  to  the  word,  and  have  this  mark  of  walk- 
ing in  the  footsteps  of  the  flock.  I  charge 
you,  I  entreat  you  to  give  me  an  honest  an- 
swer. What  are  you  doing  with  the  Bible  ? — 
Do  you  read  it  ?    HOW  READEST  THOU  ? 


IX.  I  ask,  in  the  last  place,  because  the 
Bible  is  the  only  hook  which  can  comfort  a  man 
in  the  last  hours  of  his  life. 

Death  is  an  event  which  in  all  probability 
is  before  us  all.  There  is  no  avoiding  it.  It 
is  the  river  which  each  of  us  must  cross.  I 
who  write,  and  you  who  read,  have  each  one 
day  to  die.  It  is  good  to  remember  this.  We 
are  all  sadly  apt  to  put  away  the  subject  from 
us.  "Each  man  thinks  each  man  mortal  but 
himself."  I  want  every  one  to  do  his  duty 
in  life,  but  I  also  want  every  one  to  think  of 
death.  I  want  every  one  to  know  how  to 
live,  but  I  also  want  every  one  to  know  how 
to  die. 

Death  is  a  solemn  event  to  all.  It  is  the 
winding  up  of  all  earthly  plans  and  expecta- 
tions. It  is  a  separation  from  all  we  have 
loved  and  lived  with.  It  is  often  accompanied 
by  much  bodily  pain  and  distress.  It  brings 
us  to  the  grave,  the  worm,  and  corruption.  It 
opens  the  door  to  judgment  and  eternity, — to 
heaven  or  to  hell.  It  is  an  event  after  which 
there  is  no  change,  or  space  for  repentance. 


Other  mistakes  may  be  corrected  or  retrieved, 
but  not  a  mistake  on  our  death-beds.  As  the 
tree  falls,  there  it  must  lie.  No  conversion  in 
the  coffin !  !N"o  new  birth  after  we  have  ceased 
to  breathe  !  And  death  is  before  us  all.  It 
may  be  close  at  hand.  The  time  of  our  de- 
parture is  quite  uncertain.  But  sooner  or 
later  we  must  each  lie  down  alone  and  die. 
All  these  are  serious  considerations. 

Death  is  a  solemn  event,  even  to  the  be- 
liever in  Christ.  For  him  no  doubt  the  sting 
of  death  is  taken  away.  Death  has  become 
one  of  his  privileges,  for  he  is  Christ's.  Liv- 
ing or  dying,  he  is  the  Lord's.  If  he  lives, 
Christ  lives  in  him,  and  if  he  dies,  he  goes  to 
live  with  Christ.  To  him  to  live  is  Christ, 
and  to  die  is  gain.  Death  frees  him  from 
many  trials, — from  a  weak  body,  a  corrupt 
heart,  a  tempting  devil,  and  an  ensnaring  or 
persecuting  world.  Death  admits  him  to  the 
enjoyment  of  many  blessings.  He  rests  from 
his  labors : — The  hope  of  a  joyful  resurrec- 
tion is  changed  into  a  certainty  : — He  has  the 
company   of  holy  redeemed   spirits: — He  is 


with  Christ.  All  this  is  true, — and  yet,  even 
to  a  believer,  death  is  a  solemn  thing.  Flesh 
and  blood  naturally  shrinks  from  it.  To  part 
from  all  we  love  is  a  wrench  and  trial  to  the 
feelings.  The  world  we  go  to  is  a  world  un- 
known, even  though  it  is  our  home.  Friendly 
and  harmless  as  death  is  to  a  believer,  it  is 
not  an  event  to  be  treated  lightly.  It  always 
must  be  a  very  solemn  thing. 

Eeader,  it  becomes  every  one  to  consider 
calmly  how  he  is  going  to  meet  death.  Gird 
up  your  loins,  like  a  man,  and  look  the  sub- 
ject in  the  face.  Listen  to  me,  while  I  tell 
you  a  few  things  about  the  end  we  are 
coming  to. 

The  good  things  of  the  world  cannot  com- 
fort a  man  when  he  draws  near  death.  All 
the  gold  of  California  and  Australia  will  not 
provide  light  for  the  dark  valley.  Money  can 
buy  the  best  medical  advice  and  attendance 
for  a  man's  body.  But  money  cannot  buy 
peace  for  his  conscience,  heart,  and  soul. 

Eelations,  loved  friends,  and  servants  can- 
not comfort  a  man  when  he  draws  near  death. 


They  may  minister  affectionately  to  his  bodily 
wants.  They  may  watch  by  his  bed-side  ten- 
derly, and  anticipate  his  every  wish.  They 
may  smooth  down  his  dying  pillow,  and  sup- 
port his  sinking  frame  in  their  arms.  But 
they  cannot  "  minister  to  a  mind  diseased." 
They  cannot  stop  the  achings  of  a  troubled 
heart.  They  cannot  screen  an  uneasy  con- 
science from  the  eye  of  God. 

The  pleasures  of  the  world  cannot  comfort 
a  man  when  he  draws  near  death.  The  bril- 
liant ball-room, — the  merry  dance, — the  mid- 
night revel, — the  party  to  Epsom  races, — the 
card  table, — the  box  at  the  opera, — the  voices 
of  singing  men  and  singing  women, — all  these 
are  at  length  distasteful  things.  To  hear  of 
hunting  and  shooting  engagements  gives  him 
no  pleasure.  To  be  invited  to  feasts,  and  re- 
gattas, and  fancy -fairs,  gives  him  no  ease. 
He  cannot  hide  from  himself  that  these  are 
hollow,  empty,  powerless  things.  They  jar 
upon  the  ear  of  his  conscience.  They  are  out 
of  harmony  with  his  condition.  They  cannot 
stop  one  gap  in  his  heart,  when  the  last  enemy 


is  coming  in  like  a  flood.  They  cannot  make 
him  calm  in  the  prospect  of  meeting  a  holy 
God. 

Books  and  newspapers  cannot  comfort  a 
man  when  he  draws  near  death.  The  most 
brilliant  writings  of  Macaulay  or  Dickens  will 
pall  upon  his  ear.  The  most  splendid  article 
in  the  Times  will  fail  to  interest  them.  The 
Edinburgh  and  Quarterly  Eeviews  will  give 
him  no  pleasure.  Punch  and  the  Illustrated 
News,  and  the  last  new  novel,  will  lie  unopened 
and  unheeded.  Their  time  will  be  past. 
Their  vocation  will  be  gone.  Whatever  they 
may  be  in  health,  they  are  useless  in  the  hoar 
of  death. 

There  is  but  one  fountain  of  comfort  for 
a  man  drawing  near  to  his  end,  and  that  is 
the  Bible.  Chapters  out  of  the  Bible, — texts 
out  of  the  Bible, — statements  of  truth  taken 
out  of  the  Bible, — books  containing  matter 
drawn  from  the  Bible, — these  are  a  man's  only 
chance  of  comfort,  when  he  comes  to  die.  I 
do  not  at  all  say  that  the  Bible  will  do  good, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  to  a  dying  man,  if  he 


232  "how  readest  thou?' 

has  not  valued  it  before.  I  know,  unhappily, 
too  much  of  death-beds  to  say  that.  I  do  not 
say  whether  it  is  probable  that  he  who  has 
been  unbelieving  and  neglectful  of  the  Bible 
in  life,  will  at  once  believe  and  get  comfort 
from  it  in  death.  But  I  do  say,  positively, 
that  no  dying  man  will  ever  get  real  com- 
fort, except  from  the  contents  of  the  word  of 
God.  All  comfort  from  any  other  source  is 
a  house  built  upon  sand. 

I  lay  this  down  as  a  rule  of  universal  ap- 
plication. I  make  no  exception  in  favor  of 
any  class  on  earth.  Kings  and  poor  men, 
learned  and  unlearned, — all  are  on  a  level  in 
this  matter.  There  is  not  a  jot  of  real  con- 
solation for  any  dying  man,  unless  he  gets  it 
from  the  Bible.  Chapters,  passages,  texts, 
promises,  and  doctrines  of  Scripture, — heard, 
received,  believed,  and  rested  on, — these  are 
the  only  comforters  I  dare  promise  to  any  one, 
when  he  leaves  the  world.  Taking  the  sacra- 
ment* will  do  a  man  no  more  good  than  the 
Popish  extreme  unction,  so  long  as  the  word 
is  not  received  and  believed.     Priestly  abso- 


lution  will  no  more  ease  the  conscience  than 
the  incantations  of  a  heathen  magician,  if  the 
poor  dying  sinner  does  not  receive  and  believe 
Bible  truth.  I  tell  every  one  who  reads  this 
tract,  that  although  men  may  seem  to  get  on 
comfortably  without  the  Bible  while  they  live, 
they  may  be  sure  that  without  the  Bible  they 
cannot  comfortably  die.  It  was  a  true  con- 
fession of  the  learned  Selden,  "  There  is  no 
book  upon  which  we  can  rest  in  a  dying  mo- 
ment but  the  Bible." 

I  might  easily  confirm  all  I  have  just  said 
by  examples  and  illustrations.  I  might  show 
you  the  death-beds  of  men  who  have  affected 
to  despise  the  Bible.  I  might  tell  you  how 
Voltaire  and  Paine,  the  famous  infidels,  died 
in  misery,  bitterness,  rage,  fear,  and  despair. 
I  might  show  you  the  happy  death-beds  of 
those  who  have  loved  the  Bible  and  believed 
it,  and  the  blessed  effect  the  sight  of  their 
death-beds  had  on  others.  Cecil,  a  minister 
whose  praise  ought  to  be  in  all  churches, 
says,  "  I  shall  never  forget  standing  by  the 
bed-side   of   my  dying  mother.      '  Are  you 


234  "  HOW   READEST   THOU  ?" 

afraid  to  die  ?'  I  asked.  '  No !'  she  replied. 
'  But  why  does  the  uncertainty  of  another 
state  give  you  no  concern  ?'  '  Because  God 
has  said,  *  Fear  not ;  when  thou  passest  through 
the  waters  I  will  be  with  thee,  and  through 
the  rivers,  they  shall  not  overflow  thee.'  "  I 
might  easily  multiply  illustrations  of  this 
kind.  But  I  think  it  better  to  conclude  this 
part  of  my  subject,  by  giving  the  result  of 
my  own  observation  as  a  minister. 

I  have  seen  not  a  few  dying  persons  in  my 
time.  I  have  seen  great  varieties  of  manner 
and  deportment  among  them.  I  have  seen 
some  die  sullen,  silent,  and  comfortless.  I  have 
seen  others  die  ignorant,  unconcerned,  and 
apparently  without  much  fear.  I  have  seen 
some  die  so  wearied  out  with  long  illness,  that 
they  were  quite  willing  to  depart,  and  yet  they 
did  not  seem  to  me  at  all  in  a  fit  state  to  go 
before  God.  I  have  seen  others  die  with  pro- 
fessions of  hope  and  trust  in  God,  without 
leaving  satisfactory  evidences  that  they  were 
on  the  rock.  I, have  seen  others  die,  who  I 
believe  were  in  Christ,  and  safe,  and  yet  they 


never  seemed  to  enjoy  much  sensible  com- 
fort. I  have  seen  some  few  dying  in  the  fall 
assurance  of  hope,  and  like  Bunyan's  "  Stand- 
fast," giving  glorious  testimony  to  Christ's 
faithfulness,  even  in  the  river.  But  one  thing 
I  have  never  seen.  I  never  saw  any  one  en- 
joy what  I  should  call  real,  solid,  calm,  rea- 
sonable peace  on  his  death-bed,  who  did  not 
draw  his  peace  from  the  Bible.  And  this  I 
am  bold  to  say,  that  the  man  who  thinks  to 
go  to  his  death-bed  without  having  the  Bible 
for  his  comforter,  his  companion,  and  his 
friend,  is  one  of  the  greatest  madmen  in  the 
world.  There  are  no  comforts  for  the  soul 
but  Bible  comforts,  and  he  who  has  not  got 
hold  of  these,  has  got  hold  of  nothing  at  all, 
unless  it  be  a  broken  reed. 

Reader,  the  only  comforter  for  a  death-bed 
is  the  book  about  which  I  address  you  this 
day.  Surely  it  is  no  light  matter  whether 
you  read  that  book  or  not.  Surely  a  dying 
man,  in  a  dying  world,  should  seriously  con- 
sider whether  he  has  got  anything  to  comfort 
him,  when  his  turn  comes  to  die.    I  charge 


you,  I  entreat  you,  for  the  last  time,  to  give 
an  honest  answer  to  my  question.  What  are 
you  doing  with  the  Bible  ? — Do  you  read  it  ? 
HOW  KEADEST  THOU? 

Eeader,  I  have  now  given  you  the  reason 
why  I  ask  you  a  question  about  the  Bible.  I 
have  shown  you  that  knowledge  of  the  Bible 
is  absolutely  necessary  to  salvation, — that  no 
book  is  written  in  such  a  manner  as  the  Bible, 
that  no  book  contains  such  matter, — that  no 
book  has  done  so  much  for  the  world  gener- 
ally,— that  no  book  can  do  so  much  for  every 
one  who  reads  it  aright, — that  no  book  is  so 
awfully  neglected, — that  this  book  is  the  only 
rule  of  faith  and  practice, — that  it  is,  and 
always  has  been,  the  food  of  all  true  servants 
of  God, — and  that  it  is  the  only  book,  which 
can  comfort  men  when  they  die.  All  these 
are  ancient  things.  I  do  not  pretend  to  tell 
you  anything  new.  I  have  only  gathered  to- 
gether old  truths,  and  tried  to  mould  them 
into  a  new  shape.  Let  me  finish  all,  by  ad- 
dressing a  few  plain  words  to  the  conscience 
of  every  class  of  readers  : 


"how  eeadest  thof?"  237 

1.  This  tract  may  fall  into  the  hands  of 
some  who  can  read,  but  never  do  read  the 
Bible  at  all.  Eeader,  are  you  one  of  them  ? 
If  you  are,  I  have  something  to  say  to  you. 

I  cannot  comfort  you  in  your  present  state 
of  mind.  It;  would  be  mockery  and  deceit  to 
do  so.  I  cannot  speak  to  you  of  peace  and 
heaven,  while  you  treat  the  Bible  as  you  do. 
You  are  in  danger  of  losing  your  soul. 

You  are  in  danger,  because  your  neglected 
Bible  is  a  'plain  evidence  that  you  do  not  love  God. 
The  health  of  a  man's  body  may  generally  be 
known  by  his  appetite.  The  health  of  a  man's 
soul  may  be  known  by  his  treatment  of  the 
Bible.  Now  you  are  manifestly  laboring  un- 
der a  sore  disease.  Eeader,  will  you  not  re- 
pent ? 

You  are  in  danger,  because  God  will  reclcon 
with  you  for  your  neglect  of  the  Bible  in  the  day 
of  judgment.  You  will  have  to  give  account 
of  your  use  of  time,  strength,  and  money ; 
and  you  will  also  have  to  give  account  of  your 
use  of  the  w©rd.  You  will  not  stand  at  that 
bar  side  by  side  with  the  Patagonian,  who  ne- 


238  "  now   EEADEST   THOII  ?" 

ver  beard  of  the  Bible.  To  whom  much  is 
given,  of  them  much  will  be  required.  Of  all 
men's  buried  talents,  none  will  weigh  them 
down  so  heavily  as  a  neglected  Bible.  As  you 
deal  with  the  Bible,  so  God  will  deal  with 
your  soul.  Eeader,  I  say  again,  will  you  not 
repent. 

You  are  in  danger,  because  there  is  no  degree 
of  error  in  religion  into  ivhich  you  may  not  fall. 
You  are  at  the  mercy  of  the  first  clever  Jesuit, 
Mormonite,  Socinian,  Turk,  or  Jew,  who  may 
happen  to  meet  you.  A  land  of  unwalled 
villages  is  not  more  defenceless  against  an 
enemy,  than  a  man  who  neglects  his  Bible. 
You  may  go  on  tumbling  from  one  step  of 
delusion  to  another,  till  at  length  you  are 
landed  in  the  pit  of  hell.  Eeader,  I  say  once 
more,  will  you  not  repent  ? 

You  are  in  danger,  because  there  is  not  a 
single  i^easonahle  excuse  you  can  allege  for  neglect- 
ing the  Bible.  You  have  no  time  to  read  it 
forsooth  !  But  you  can  make  time  for  eating, 
drinking,  sleeping,  and  perhaps  for  newspaper 
reading  and  smoking.  You  might  easily  make 


"how  keadest  thou?"  239 

time  to  read  the  word.  Alas  !  it  is  not  want 
of  time,  but  waste  of  time  that  ruins  souls. 
You  find  it  too  troublesome  to  read  forsooth ! 
You  had  better  say  at  once  it  is  too  much 
trouble  to  go  to  heaven,  and  you  are  content 
to  go  to  hell.  Truly  these  excuses  are  like 
the  rubbish  round  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  in 
Nehemiah's  days.  They  would  all  soon  dis- 
appear if,  like  the  Jews,  you  had  "  a  mind  to 
work."  Eeader,  I  say  for  the  last  time,  will 
you  not  repent  ? 

I  know  I  cannot  reach  your  heart.  I  cannot 
make  you  see  and  feel  these  things.  I  can 
only  enter  my  solemn  protest  against  your 
present  treatment  of  the  Bible,  and  lay  that 
protest  before  your  conscience.  I  do  so  with 
all  my  soul.  Oh  !  beware  lest  you  repent  too 
late !  Beware  lest  you  put  off  seeking  for  the 
Bible  till  you  send  for  the  doctor  in  your  last 
illness,  and  then  find  the  Bible  a  sealed  book, 
and  dark  as  the  cloud  between  the  hosts  of 
Israel  and  Egypt,  to  your  anxious  soul !  Be- 
ware lest  you  go  on  saying  all  your  life, 
"  Men  do  very  well  without  all  this  Bible- 


reading,"  and  find  at  length,  to  your  cost,  that 
men  do  yerj  ill,  and  end  in  hell !  Beware  lest 
the  day  come,  when  you  will  feel,  "  Had  I  but 
honored  the  Bible  as  much  as  I  have  honored 
the  newspaper,  I  should  not  have  been  left 
without  comfort  in  my  last  hours!"  Bible- 
neglecting  reader,  I  give  you  a  plain  warning. 
The  plague-cross  is  at  present  on  your  door. 
The  Lord  have  mercy  upon  your  soul ! 

2.  This  tract  may  fall  into  the  hands  of 
some  one  who  is  willing  to  begin  reading  the 
Bible,  but  wants  advice  on  the  subject. 
Eeader,  are  you  that  man?  Listen  to  me, 
and  I  will  give  you  a  few  short  hints. 

For  one  thing,  begin  reading  your  Bible  this 
very  day.  The  way  to  do  a  thing  is  to  do  it, 
and  the  way  to  read  the  Bible  is  actually  to 
read  it.  It  is  not  meaning,  or  wishing,  or  re- 
solving, or  intending,  or  thinking  about  it, 
which  will  advance  you  one  step.  You  must 
positively  read.  There  is  no  royal  road  in 
this  matter,  any  more  than  in  the  matter  of 
prayer.     If   you  cannot  read  yourself,   you 


"how  eeadest  thou?"  241 

must  persuade  somebody  else  to  read  to  you. 
But  one  way  or  another,  through  eyes  or  ears, 
the  words  of  Scriptures  must  actually  pass  be- 
fore your  mind. 

For  another  thing,  read  the  Bible  with  an 
earnest  desire  to  understand  it.  Think  not  for  a 
moment  that  the  great  object  is  to  turn  over  a 
certain  quantity  of  printed  paper,  and  that  it 
matters  nothing  whether  you  understand  it  or 
not.  Some  ignorant  people  seem  to  fancy  that 
all  is  done,  if  they  clear  off  so  many  chapters 
every  day,  though  they  may  not  have  a  notion 
what  they  are  all  about,  and  only  know  that 
they  have  pushed  on  their  mark  so  many 
leaves.  This  is  turning  Bible  reading  into  a 
mere  form.  It  is  almost  as  bad  as  the  Popish 
habit  of  buying  indulgences,  by  saying  a  fabu- 
lous number  of  ave-marias  and  paternosters. 
It  reminds  one  of  the  poor  Hottentot,  who  ate 
up  a  Dutch  hymn-book,  because  he  saw  it 
comforted  his  neighbors'  hearts.  Settle  it 
down  in  your  mind,  as  a  general  principle, 
that  a  Bible  not  understood  is  a  Bible  that 
does  no  good.     Say  to  yourself  often  as  you 

16 


read,  "  What  is  all  this  about  ?"  Dig  for  the 
meaning,  like  a  man  digging  for  Australian 
gold.  Work  hard,  and  do  not  give  up  the 
work  in  a  hurry. 

For  another  thing,  read  the  Bible  loith  deep 
reverence.  Say  to  your  soul,  whenever  you 
open  the  Bible,  "  0  my  soul,  thou  art  going  to 
read  a  message  from  God."  The  sentences  of 
judges,  and  the  speeches  of  kings,  are  re- 
ceived with  awe  and  respect.  How  much  more 
reverence  is  due  to  the  words  of  the  Judge 
of  judges,  and  King  of  kings  1  Avoid,  as  you 
would  cursing  and  swearing,  that  irreverent 
habit  of  mind,  which  some  German  divines 
have  unhappily  taken  up  about  the  Bible. 
They  handle  the  contents  of  the  holy  book  as 
carelessly  and  disrespectfully,  as  if  the  writers 
were  such  men  as  themselves.  They  make 
one  think  of  a  child  composing  a  book  to  ex- 
pose the  fancied  ignorance  of  his  own  father, 
—or  of  a  pardoned  murderer  criticising  the 
hand-writing  and  style  of  his  own  reprieve. 
Enter  rather  into  the  spirit  of  Moses  on  Mount 
Horeb:  "Put  thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet; 


"how  keadest  thou?"  243 

the    place   whereon    thou    standest   is    holy 
ground." 

For  another  thing,  read  the  Bihle  with  earnest 
prayer  for  the  teaching  a,nd  help  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Here  is  the  rock  on  which  many  make 
shipwreck  at  the  very  outset.  They  do  not 
ask  for  wisdom  and  instruction,  and  so  they 
find  the  Bible  dark,  and  carry  nothing  away 
from  it.  You  should  pray  for  the  Spirit  to 
guide  you  into  all  truth.  You  should  beg  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  open  your  understand- 
ing, as  He  did  that  of  His  disciples.  The 
Lord  God,  by  whose  inspiration  the  book  was 
written,  keeps  the  keys  of  the  book,  and  alone 
can  enable  you  to  understand  it  profitably. 
Nine  times  over  in  one  Psalm  does  David  cry, 
"  Teach  me."  Five  times  over,  in  the  same 
Psalm,  does  he  say,  "Give me  understanding." 
Well  says  Owen,  "  There  is  a  sacred  light  in 
the  word :  but  there  is  a  covering  and  veil  on 
the  eyes  of  men,  so  that  they  cannot  behold  it 
aright.  Now  the  removal  of  this  veil  is  the 
peculiar  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  Humble 
prayer  will  throw  more  light  on  your  Bible, 


24:4:  "how   EEADEST    THOU?" 

than  Poole's  Synopsis,  or  all  tlie  commenta- 
ries that  ever  were  written.  Eemember  this, 
and  say  always,  "  0  God,  for  Christ's  sake, 
give  me  the  teaching  of  the  Spirit." 

For  another  thing,  read  the  Bible  with  child- 
like faith  and  humanity.  Open  your  heart  as 
you  open  your  book,  and  say,  "  Speak  Lord, 
for  thy  servant  heareth."  Kesolve  to  believe 
implicitly  whatever  you  find  there,  however 
much  it  may  run  counter  to  your  own  preju- 
dices. Eesolve  to  receive  heartily  every 
statement  of  truth,  whether  you  like  it  or  not. 
Beware  of  that  miserable  habit  of  mind  into 
which  some  readers  of  the  Bible  fall.  They 
receive  some  doctrines,  because  they  like 
them.  They  reject  others,  because  they  are 
condemning  to  themselves,  or  to  some  lover, 
or  relation,  or  friend.  At  this  rate  the  Bible 
is  useless.  Are  we  to  be  judges  of  what  ought 
to  be  in  the  word  ?  Do  we  know  better  than 
God  ?  Settle  it  down  in  your  mind  that  you 
will  receive  all,  and  believe  all,  and  that  what 
you  cannot  understand  you  will  take  on  trust. 
Eemember,  when  you  pray,  you  are  speaking 


"how  readest  thou?"  245 

to  God,  and  God  hears  you.  But,  remember, 
when  you  read,  God  is  speaking  to  you,  and 
you  are  not  to  answer  again,  but  to  listen. 

For  another  thing,  read  the  Bible  in  a  spirit 
of  obedience  and  self-application.  Sit  down  to 
the  study  of  it  with  a  daily  determination 
that  you  will  live  by  its  rules,  rest  on  its 
statements,  and  act  on  its  commands.  Con- 
sider, as  you  travel  through  every  chapter, 
"  How  does  this  afiect  my  position  and  course 
of  conduct?  What  does  this  teach  me?'^  It 
is  poor  work  to  read  the  Bible  for  mere  cu- 
riosity and  speculative  purposes,  in  order  to 
fill  your  head  and  store  your  mind  with  opin- 
ions, while  you  do  not  allow  the  book  to  in- 
fluence your  heart  and  life.  That  Bible  is 
read  best  which  is  practised  most. 

For  another  thing,  read  the  Bible  daily. 
Make  it  a  part  of  every  day's  business  to  read 
and  meditate  on  some  portion  of  God's  work. 
Private  means  of  grace  are  just  as  needful 
every  day  for  our  souls,  as  food  and  clothing 
for  our  bodies.  Yesterday's  bread  will  not 
feed  the  laborer  to-day,  and  to-day's  bread 


246  "how  keadest  thou?" 

will  not  feed  the  laborer  to-morrow.  Do  as 
the  Israelites  did  in  the  wilderness.  Gather 
your  manna  fresh  every  morning.  Choose 
your  own  seasons  and  hours.  Do  not  scram- 
ble over  and  hurry  your  reading.  Give  your 
Bible  the  best,  and  not  the  worst  part  of  your 
time.  But  whatever  plan  you  pursue,  let  it 
be  a  rule  of  your  life  to  visit  the  throne  of 
grace  and  the  Bible  every  day. 

For  another  thing,  read  all  the  Bible,  and 
read  it  in  an  orderly  way.  I  fear  there  are 
many  parts  of  the  word  which  some  people 
never  read  at  all.  This  is,  to  say  the  least,  a 
very  presumptuous  habit.  All  Scripture  is 
profitable.  To  this  habit  may  be  traced  the 
want  of  broad,  well-proportioned  views  of 
truth,  which  is  so  common.  Some  people's 
Bible-reading  is  a  system  of  perpetual  dipping 
and  picking.  They  do  not  seem  to  have  an 
idea  of  regularly  going  through  the  whole 
book.  This  also  is  a  great  mistake.  No 
doubt  in  time  of  sickness  and  a&iction  it  is 
allowable  to  search  out  seasonable  portions. 
But  with  this  exception,  I   believe    it   is  by 


'•HOW   EEADEST   THOU?"  247 

far  the  best  plan  to  begin  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  at  tbe  same  time, — read  each 
straight  through  to  the  end,  and  then  begin 
again.  This  is  a  matter  in  which  every  one 
must  be  persuaded  in  his  own  mind.  I  can 
only  say  it  has  been  my  own  plan  for  fifteen 
years,  and  I  have  never  seen  cause  to  alter  it. 

For  another  thing,  read  the  Bible  fairly  and 
honestly.  Determine  to  take  everything  in  its 
plain,  obvious  meaning,  and  regard  all  forced 
interpretations  with  great  suspicion.  As  a 
general  rule,  whatever  a  verse  of  the  Bible 
seems  to  mean,  it  does  mean.  Cecil's  rule  is 
a  very  valuable  one : — "  The  right  way  of  in- 
terpreting Scripture  is  to  take  it  as  we  find  it, 
without  any  attempt  to  force  it  into  any  par- 
ticular system."  Well  said  Hooker,  "  I  hold 
it  as  a  most  infallible  rule  in  the  exposition  of 
Scripture,  that  when  a  literal  construction  will 
stand,  the  furthest  from  the  literal  is  common- 
ly the  worst." 

In  the  last  place,  read  the  Bible  with  Christ 
continually  in  vieiu.  The  grand  primary  object 
of  all  Scripture  is  to  testify  of  Jesus,     Old 


24:8  "how  eeadest  thoij?" 

Testament  ceremonies  are  shadows  of  Christ. 
Old  Testament  judges  and  deliverers  are  types 
of  Christ.  Old  Testament  history  shows  the 
world's  need  of  Christ.  Old  Testament  pro- 
phecies are  full  of  Christ's  sufferings,  and  of 
Christ's  glory  yet  to  come.  The  first  advent 
and  the  second, — the  Lord's  humiliation  and 
the  Lord's  kingdom, — the  cross  and  the  crown, 
shine  forth  everywhere  in  the  Bible.  Keep 
fast  hold  on  this  clue,  if  you  would  read  the 
Bible  aright. 

Eeader,  I  might  easily  add  to  these  hints, 
if  time  permitted.  Few  and  short  as  they 
are,  you  will  find  them  worth  attention.  Act 
upon  them,  and  I  firmly  believe  you  will  never 
be  allowed  to  miss  the  way  to  heaven.  Act 
upon  them,  and  you  will  find  light  continually 
increasing  in  your  mind.  No  book  of  evi- 
dence can  be  compared  with  that  internal  evi- 
dence which  he  obtains,  who  daily  uses  the 
word  in  the  right  way.  Such  a  man  does  not 
need  the  books  of  learned  men,  like  Paley, 
and  Wilson,  and  M'llvaine.     He  has  the  wit- 


"how  keadest  thou?"  249 

ness  in  himself.  The  book  satisfies  and  feeds 
his  soul.  A  poor  Christian  woman  once  said 
to  an  infidel,  "I  am  no  scholar.  I  cannot 
argue  like  you.  But  I  know  that  honey  is 
honey,  because  it  leaves  a  sweet  taste  in  my 
mouth.  And  I  know  the  Bible  to  be  God's 
book,  because  of  the  taste  it  leaves  in  my 
heart." 

8.  This  tract  may  fall  into  the  hands^of  some 
one  who  loves  and  believes  the  Bible,  and  yet  reads 
it  but  little.  I  fear  there  are  many  such  in  this 
day.  It  is  a  day  of  bustle  and  hurry.  It  is 
a  day  of  talking,  and  committee  meetings,  and 
public  work.  These  things  are  all  very  well 
in  their  way,  but  I  fear  that  sometimes  they 
clip  and  cut  short  private  reading  of  the  Bible. 
Eeader,  does  your  conscience  tell  you  that  you 
are  one  of  the  persons  I  speak  of?  Listen  to 
me,  and  I  will  say  a  few  things  which  deserve 
your  serious  attention. 

You  are  the  man  that  is  likely  to  get  little 
comfort  from  the  Bible  in  time  of  need.  Trial  is 
a  striking  season.     Affliction  is  a  searching 


wind,  which  strips  the  leaves  off  the  trees,  and  ^ 
brings  to  light  the  birds'  nests.  Now  I  fear 
that  your  stores  of  Bible  consolations  may  one 
day  run  very  low.  I  fear  lest  you  should  find 
yourself  at  last  on  very  short  allowance,  and 
come  into  harbor  weak,  worn,  and  thin. 

You  are  the  man  that  is  likely  never  to  he  es- 
taUished  in  the  truth  I  shall  not  be  surprised 
to  hear  that  you  arb  troubled  with  doubts  and 
questionings  about  assurance,  grace,  faith,  per- 
severance, and  the  like.  The  devil  is  an  old 
and  cunning  enemy.  Like  the  Benjamites,  he 
can  throw  stones  at  a  hair-breadth,  and  not 
miss.  He  can  quote  Scripture  readily  enough 
when  he  pleases.  Now  you  are  not  sufficient- 
ly ready  with  your  weapons  to  be  able  to  fight 
a  good  fight  with  him.  Your  armor  does  not 
fit  you  well.  Your  sword  sits  loosely  in  your 
hand. 

You  are  the  man  that  is  likely  to  make  mis- 
takes  in  life.  I  shall  not  wonder  if  I  am  told 
that  you  have  erred  about  your  own  marriage, 
—  erred  about  your  children's  education, — 
erred  about  the  conduct  of  your  household, — 


erred  about  the  company  you  keep.  The 
world  you  steer  througli  is  full  of  rocks,  and 
shoals,  and  sand-banks.  You  are  not  sufficient- 
ly familiar  either  with  the  lights  or  charts. 

You  are  the  man  that  is  likely  to  he  carried 
away  hy  some  specious  false  teacher  for  a  season. 
It  will  not  surprise  me,  if  I  hear  that  some  one 
of  those  clever,  eloquent  men,  who  can  "  make 
the  worse  appear  the  better  cause,"  is  leading 
you  into  many  follies.  You  are  wanting  in 
ballast.  ISTo  wonder  if  you  are  tossed  to  and 
fro,  like  a  cork  on  the  waves. 

Eeader,  all  these  are  uncomfortable  things. 
I  want  you  to  escape  them  all.  Take  the  ad- 
vice I  offer  you  this  day.  Do  not  merely  read 
your  Bible  a  little,  but  read  it  a  great  deal. 
Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly. 
Do  not  be  a  mere  babe  in  spiritual  knowledge. 
Seek  to  become  well-instructed  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  and  to  be  continually  adding  new 
things  to  old.  A  religion  of  feeling  is  an 
uncertain  thing.  It  is  like  the  tide,  some- 
times high,  and  sometimes  low.  It  is  like  the 
moon,  sometimes  bright  and  sometimes  dim. 


252  "how  eeadest  thou?" 

A  religion  of  deep  Bible  knowledge,  is  a  firm 
and  lasting  possession.  It  enables  a  man  not 
merely  to  say,  '^  I  feel  liope  in  Christ," — but, 
"  I  know  whom  I  have  believed." 

4.  This  tract  may  fall  into  the  hands  of  some 
one  who  reads  the  Bible  much,  and  yet  fancies  he 
is  no  better  for  his  reading.  This  is  a  crafty 
temptation  of  the  devil.  At  one  stage  he 
says,  "  Do  not  read  the  Bible  at  all."  At  an- 
other he  says,  "  Your  reading  does  yon  no 
good :  give  it  up."  Reader,  are  you  that  man  ? 
I  feel  for  you  from  the  bottom  of  my  soul. 
Let  me  try  to  do  you  good. 

Do  not  think  you  are  getting  no  good  from 
the  Bible,  merely  because  you  do  not  see  that 
good  day  by  day.  The  greatest  effects  are  by 
no  means  those  which  make  the  most  noise, 
and  are  most  easily  observed.  The  greatest 
defects  are  often  silent,  quiet,  and  hard  to  de- 
tect at  the  time  they  are  being  produced. 
Think  of  the  influence  of  the  moon  upon  the 
earth,  and  of  the  air  upon  the  human  lungs. 
Remember  how  silently  the  dew  falls,  and  how 


"how  eeadest  thou?"  253 

imperceptibly  tlie  grass  grows.  There  may 
be  far  more  doing  than  you  think  in  your  soul 
by  your  Bible-reading. 

The  word  may  be  gradually  producing  deep 
impressions  on  your  heart,  of  which  you  are 
not  at  present  aware.  Often  when  the  memo- 
ry is  retaining  no  facts,  the  character  of  a  man 
is  receiving  some  everlasting  impression.  Is 
sin  becoming  every  year  more  hateful  to  you  ? 
Is  Christ  becoming  every  year  more  precious  ? 
Is  holiness  becoming  every  year  more  lovely 
and  desirable  in  your  eyes?  If  these  things 
are  so,  take  courage.  The  Bible  is  doing  you 
good,  though  you  may  not  be  able  to  trace  it 
out  day  by  day. 

The  Bible  may  be  restraining  you  from  some 
sin  or  delusion,  into  which  you  would  other- 
wise run.  It  may  be  daily  keeping  you  back, 
and  hedging  you  up,  and  preventing  many  a 
false  step.  Ah  !  reader,  you  might  soon  find 
this  out  to  your  cost,  if  you  were  to  cease 
reading  the  word.  The  very  familiarity  of 
blessings  sometimes  makes  us  insensible  to 
their  value.     Eesist  the  devil.     Settle  it  down 


in  your  mind  as  an  established  rule,  that  whe- 
ther you  feel  it  at  the  moment  or  not,  you  are 
inhaling  spiritual  health  by  reading  the  Bible, 
and  insensibly  becoming  more  strong. 

5.  There  may  be  some  into  whose  hands  this 
tract  will  fall  who  really  love  the  Bible,  live  upon 
the  Bihle^  and  read  it  much.  Eeader,  are  you 
one  of  these  ?  Give  me  your  attention,  and  I 
will  mention  a  few  things,  which  we  shall  do 
well  to  lay  to  heart. 

Let  us  resolve  to  read  the  Bible  more  and 
more  every  year  we  live.  Let  us  try  to  get  it 
rooted  in  our  memories,  and  engrafted  into 
our  hearts.  Let  us  be  thoroughly  well  provi- 
sioned with  it  against  the  voyage  of  death. 
Who  knows  but  we  may  have  a  very  stormy 
passage  ?  Sight  and  hearing  may  fail  us,  and 
we  may  be  in  deep  waters.  Oh !  to  have  the 
word  hid  in  our  hearts  in  such  an  hour  as  that ! 

Let  us  resolve  to  be  more  watchful  over  our 
Bible-reading  every  year  that  we  live.  Let  us 
be  jealously  careful  about  the  time  we  give  to 
it,  and  the  manner  that  time  is  spent.     Let  us 


beware  of  omitting  our  daily  reading  without 
sufficient  cause.  Let  us  not  be  gaping,  and 
yawning,  and  dozing  over  our  book,  while  we 
read.  Let  us  read  like  a  London  merchant 
studying  the  city  article  in  the  Times, — or  like 
a  wife  reading  a  husband's  letter  from  a  dis- 
tant land.  Let  us  be  very  careful  that  we 
never  exalt  any  minister,  or  sermon,  or  book, 
or  tract,  or  friend,  above  the  word.  Cursed 
be  that  book,  or  tract,  or  human  counsel,  which 
creeps  in  between  us  and  the  Bible,  and  hides 
the  Bible  from  our  eyes !  Once  more,  I  say, 
let  us  be  very  watchful.  The  moment  we 
open  the  Bible,  the  devil  sits  down  by  our 
side.  Oh  !  to  read  with  a  hungry  spirit,  and 
a  simple  desire  for  edification  ! 

Let  us  resolve  to  honor  the  Bible  more  in 
our  families.  Let  us  read  it  morning  and 
evening  to  our  children  and  households,  and 
not  be  ashamed  to  let  men  see  that  we  do  so. 
Let  us  not  be  discouraged  by  seeing  no  good 
arise  from  it.  The  Bible-reading  in  a  family  has 
kept  many  a  one  from  the  gaol,  the  workhouse, 
and  the  Gazette,  if  it  has  not  kept  him  from  hell. 


256  *'how  eeadest  thou?" 

Let  us  resolve  to  meditate  more  on  tlie  Bi- 
ble. It  is  good  to  take  with  us  two  or  three 
texts,  when  we  go  out  into  the  world,  and  to 
turn  them  over  and  over  in  our  minds,  when- 
ever we  have  a  little  leisure.  It  keeps  out 
many  vain  thoughts.  It  clenches  the  nail  of 
daily  reading.  It  preserves  our  souls  from 
stagnating  and  breeding  corrupt  things.  It 
sanctifies  and  quickens  our  memories,  and  pre- 
vents their  becoming  like  those  ponds  where 
the  frogs  live,  but  the  fish  die. 

Let  us  resolve  to  talk  more  to  believers 
about  the  Bible,  when  we  meet  them.  Alas  ! 
the  conversation  of  Christians,  when  they  do 
meet,  is  often  sadly  unprofitable.  How  many 
frivolous,  and  trifling,  and  uncharitable  things 
are  said !  Let  us  bring  out  the  Bible  more, 
and  it  will  help  to  drive  the  devil  away,  and 
keep  our  hearts  in  tune.  Oh  !  that  we  may  all 
strive  so  to  walk  together  in  this  world,  that 
Jesus  may  draw  near,  and  go  with  us,  as  he  went 
with  the  two  disciples  journeying  to  Emmaus ! 

Let  us  resolve  to  prize  the  Bible  more.  Let 
us  not  fear  being  idolaters  of  this  blessed  book. 


"how  eeadest  thou?" 


257 


Men  may  easily  make  an  idol  of  the  clinrch, 
of  ministers,  of  sacraments,  or  of  intellect. 
Men  cannot  make  an  idol  of  the  word.  Let 
ns  regard  all  who  would  damage  the  authority 
of  the  Bible  or  impugn  its  credit,  as  spiritual 
robbers.  We  are  travelling  through  a  wilder- 
ness :  they  rob  us  of  our  only  guide.  We  are 
voyaging  over  a  stormy  sea :  they  rob  us  of 
our  only  compass.  We  are  toiling  over  a 
weary  road :  they  pluck  our  staff  out  of  our 
hands.  And  what  do  these  spiritual  robbers 
give  us  in  place  of  the  Bible  ?  What  do  they 
offer  as  a  guide  and  provision  for  our  souls  ? 
Nothing  !  absolutely  nothing  !  Big  swelling 
words !  Empty  promises  of  new  light !  High 
sounding  jargon,  but  nothing  substantial  and 
real !  They  would  fain  take  from  us  the  bread 
of  life,  and  they  do  not  give  us  in  its  place  so 
much  as  a  stone.  Let  us  turn  a  deaf  ear  to 
them.  Let  us  firmly  grasp  and  prize  the  Bible 
more  and  more,  the  more  it  is  assaulted. 

Let  us  resolve  to  remember  those  who  have 
not  got  the  Bible.  Let  us  labor  to  raise  them 
from  their  low  estate.     None  are  so  poor  as 

17 


258  "how  readest  thotj?" 

those  who  have  not  the  Scriptures.  Let  us 
think  of  them  with  pity  and  compassion,  and 
not  judge  them  by  the  standard  of  people  who 
have  the  word. 

Let  us  deal  gently  with  our  Irish  Brother.  He 
may  do  many  things  which  fill  us  with  horror. 
But  he  errs,  not  knowing  the  Scriptures.  He 
has  no  Bible. 

Let  us  judge  charitably  our  Italian  brother. 
He  may  seem  superstitious,  and  lazy,  and  in- 
dolent, and  incapable  of  anything  great  or 
good.  But  he  errs,  not  knowing  the  Scrip- 
tures.    He  has  no  Bible. 

Let  us  think  lovingly  of  all  Roman  Catholic 
laymen  on  the  Continent.  We  may  feel  dis- 
gusted by  their  adoring  the  Hol}^  Coat  of 
Treves.  We  may  be  shocked  at  their  credu- 
lity about  the  Winking  Picture  of  the  Virgin 
at  Rimini.  But  we  must  remember  that  men 
will  eat  mice  and  rats  in  time  of  famine,  and 
we  must  not  marvel  if  souls  feed,  on  trash  and 
garbage,  when  priests  debar  them  from  read- 
ing the  word.  They  err,  not  knowing  the 
Scriptures,     They  have  no  Bibles. 


Last  of  all,  let  "us  resolve  to  live  by  the  Bible 
more  and  more  every  year  we  live.  Let  us 
resolutely  take  account  of  all  our  opinions  and 
practices, — of  our  habits  and  terftpers, — of  our 
behavior  in  public  and  in  private, — in  the 
world,  and  by  our  own  firesides.  Let  us 
measure  all  by  the  Bible,  and  resolve,  by 
God's  help,  to  conform  to  it.  Oh  I  that  we 
may  learn  increasingly  to  cleanse  our  ways  by 
the  word ! 

Eeader,  I  commend  all  these  things  to  your 
serious  and  prayerful  attention.  I  want  the 
ministers  to  be  Bible-reading  ministers, — the 
congregations,  Bible-reading  congregations, — 
and  the  nation,  a  Bible-reading  nation.  To 
bring  about  this  desirable  end,  I  cast  in  my 
mite  into  God's  treasury.  The  Lord  grant 
that  in  your  case  it  may  prove  not  to  have 
been  in  vain. 

I  remain 

Your  affectionate  Friend, 
J.  C.  Eyle. 


a 


P  tliml  pu  tif\\t  €xmf 


"God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." — Gal.  vi.  14. 

"  Christ  crucified  and  Christ  glorified  is  all  tha,t  we  are 
to  study  ;  the  one  we  are  to  study  as  long  as  we  are 
on  earth,  and  the  other  we  shall  he  admitted  to  study 
when  we  get  well  to  heaven.     *     * 

"  That  faith  which  is  not  huilt  on  a  dying  Christ  is  hut 
a  perilous  dream  :  God  awaken  all  from  it  that  are  in 
it!"— Robert  Traill,  1690. 

Keadek, 

What  do  you  think  and  feel  about  the 
cross  of  Christ  ?  You  live  in  a  Christian  land. 
You  probably  attend  the  worship  of  a  Chris- 
tian church.  You  have  perhaps  been  baptized 
in  the  name  of  Christ.  You  profess  and  call 
yourself  a  Christian.  All  this  is  well.  It  is 
more  than  can  be  said  of  millions  in  the  world. 
But  all  this  is  no  answer  to  my  question, 
"  What  do  you  think  and  feel  about  the  cross  of 
Christy 
I  want  to  tell  you  what  the  greatest  Chris- 


"what  think  you  of  the  cross?"     261 


tian  that  ever  lived  thought  of  the  cross  of 
Christ.  He  has  written  down  his  opinion. 
He  has  given  his  judgment  in  words  that  can- 
not be  mistaken.  The  man  I  mean  is  the 
Apostle  Paul.  The  place  where  you  will  find 
his  opinion,  is  in  the  letter  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  inspired  him  to  write  to  the  Galatians. 
And  the  words  in  which  his  judgment  is  set 
down,  are  these,  "God  forbid  that  I  should 
glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ." 

Now  what  did  Paul  mean  by  saying  this  ? 
He  meant  to  declare  strongly,  that  he  trusted 
in  nothing  but  Jesus  Christ  crucified  for  the 
pardon  of  his  sins  and  the  salvation  of  his  soul. 
Let  others,  if  they  would,  look  elsewhere  for 
salvation.  Let  others,  if  they  were  so  disposed, 
trust  in  other  things  for  pardon  and  peace. 
For  his  part,  the  apostle  was  determined  to 
rest  on  nothing,  lean  on  nothing,  build  his 
hope  on  nothing,  place  confidence  in  nothing, 
glory  in  nothing,  except  "the  cross  of  Jesus 
Christ." 

Keader,  let  me  talk  to  you  about  this  sub- 


ject.  Believe  me  it  is  one  of  the  deepest  im- 
portance. This  is  no  mere  question  of  con- 
troversy. This  is  not  one  of  those  points  on 
which  men  may  agree  to  differ,  and  feel  that 
differences  will  not  shut  them  out  of  heaven. 
A  man  must  be  right  on  this  subject,  or  he  is 
lost  forever.  Heaven  or  hell,  happiness  or 
misery,  life  or  death,  blessing  or  cursing  in  the 
last  day, — all  hinges  on  the  answer  to  this 
question,  "  What  do  you  think  about  the  cross 
of  Christ?" 

I.  Let  me  show  you  what  the  apostle  Paul 
did  not  glory  in. 

II.  Let  me  explain  to  you  what  he  did  glory 
in. 

III.  Let  me  show  to  you  why  all  Christians 
should  think  and  feel  about  the  cross  like 
Paul. 

I.    What  did  the  apostle  Paul  not  glory  in  ? 

There  are  many  things  that  Paul  might  have 
gloried  in,  if  he  had  thought  as  some  do  in 
this  dav.  If  ever  there  was  one  on  earth  who 
had  something  to  boast  of  in  himself,  that  man 


"what  think  you  of  the  ceoss?"     263 

was  the  great  apostle  of  the  Gentiles.  Now  if 
he  did  not  dare  to  glory,  who  shall  ? 

He  never  glorified  in  his  national  privileges. 
He  was  a  Jew  bj  birth,  and  as  he  tells  us  him- 
self,— "An  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews."  He 
might  have  said,  like  many  of  his  brethren, 
"  I  have  Abraham  for  my  forefather.  I  am 
not  a  dark  unenlightened  heathen.  I  am  one 
of  the  favored  people  of  God.  I  have  been  ad- 
mitted into  covenant  with  God  by  circumcision. 
I  am  a  far  better  man  than  the  ignorant  Gen- 
tiles." But  he  never  said  so.  He  never 
gloried  in  anything  of  this  kind.  Never  for 
one  moment ! 

He  never  gloried  in  his  own  works.  None 
ever  worked  so  hard  for  God  as  he  did.  He 
was  more  abundant  in  labors  than  any  of  the 
apostles.  No  living  man  ever  preached  so 
much,  travelled  so  much,  and  endured  so 
many  hardships  for  Christ's  cause.  None  ever 
converted  so  many  souls,  did  so  much  good 
to  the  world,  and  made  himself  so  useful  to 
mankind.  No  father  of  the  early  church,  no 
Reformer,  no  Puritan,  no  Missionary,  no  Min- 


ister,  no  Layman, — no  one  man  could  ever  be 
named,  who  did  so  many  good  works  as  the 
Apostle  Paul.  But  did  he  ever  glory  in 
them,  as  if  they  were  in  the  least  meritorious, 
and  could  save  his  soul  ?  Never  !  never  for 
one  moment. 

He  never  gloried  in  his  knowledge.  He  was 
a  man  of  great  gifts  naturally,  and  after  he 
was  converted  the  Holy  Spirit  gave  him 
greater  gifts  still.  He  was  a  mighty  preacher, 
and  a  mighty  speaker,  and  a  mighty  writer. 
He  was  as  great  with  his  pen  as  he  was  with 
his  tongue.  He  could  reason  equally  well 
with  Jews  and  Gentiles.  He  could  argue 
with  infidels  at  Corinth,  or  Pharisees  at  Je- 
rusalem, or  self-righteous  people  in  Galatia. 
He  knew  many  deep  things.  He  had  been 
in  the  third  heaven,  and  heard  unspeakable 
words.  He  had  received  the  spirit  of  pro- 
phecy, and  could  foretell  things  yet  to  come. 
But  did  he  ever  glory  in  his  knowledge,  as  if 
it  could  justify  him  before  God?  Never! 
never  !  never  for  one  moment ! 

He  never  gloried  in  his  graces.     If  ever  there 


"what  think  you  of  the  cross?"     265 

was  one  who  abounded  in  graces,  that  man 
was  Paul.  He  was  full  of  love.  How  ten- 
derly and  affectionately  he  used  to  write !  He 
could  feel  for  souls  like  a  mother  or  a  nurse 
feeling  for  her  child.  He  was  a  bold  man. 
He  cared  not  whom  he  opposed  when  truth 
was  at  stake.  He  cared  not  what  risks  he 
ran  when  souls  were  to  be  won.  He  was  a 
self-denying  man, — in  hunger  and  thirst  often, 
in  cold  and  nakedness,  in  watchings  and  fast- 
ings. He  was  a  humble  man.  He  thought 
himself  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints,  and 
the  chief  of  sinners.  He  was  a  prayerful  man. 
See  how  it  comes  out  at  the  beginning  of  all 
his  Epistles.  He  was  a  thankful  man.  His 
thanksgivings  and  his  prayers  walked  side 
by  side.  But  he  never  gloried  in  all  this, 
never  valued  himself  on  it, — never  rested  his 
soul's  hopes  on  it.  Oh !  no !  never  for  a 
moment ! 

He  never  gloried  in  his  churchmanship.  If 
ever  there  was  a  good  churchman,  that  man 
was  Paul.  He  was  himself  a  chosen  apostle. 
He  was  a  founder  of  churches,  and  an  ordainer 


of  ministers.  Timothy  and  Titus,  and  many 
elders,  received  their  first  commission  from  his 
hands.  He  was  the  beginner  of  services  and 
sacraments  in  many  a  dark  place.  Many  an 
one  did  he  baptize.  Many  an  one  did  he  re- 
ceive to  the  Lord's  table.  Many  a  meeting 
for  prayer,  and  praise,  and  preaching,  did  he 
begin,  and  carry  on.  He  was  the  setter  np  of 
discipline  in  many  a  young  church.  What- 
ever ordinances  and  rules  and  ceremonies 
were  observed  in  them,  were  first  recommend- 
ed by  him.  But  did  he  ever  glory  in  his 
office  and  church  standing?  Does  he  ever 
speak  as  if  his  churchmanship  would  save 
him,  justify  him,  put  away  his  sins,  and  make 
him  acceptable  before  God  ?  Oh  !  no !  never ! 
never  for  a  moment ! 

And  now,  reader,  mark  what  I  say.  If  the 
apostle  Paul  never  gloried  in  any  of  these 
things,  who  in  all  the  world,  from  one  end  to 
the  other, — who  has  any  right  to  glory  in 
them  in  our  day  ?  If  Paul  said,  God  forbid 
that  I  should  glory  in  anything  whatever  ex- 
cept the  cross,  who  shall  dare  to  say,  "  I  have 


something  to  glory  of, — I  am  a  better  man 
than  Paul?" 

Who  is  there  among  the  readers  of  this 
tract,  that  trusts  in  any  goodness  of  his  own  ? 
Who  is  there  that  is  resting  on  his  own 
amendments, — his  own  morality, — his  own 
performances  of  any  kind  whatever  ?  Who 
is  there  that  is  leaning  the  weight  of  his  soul 
on  anything  whatever  of  his  own,  in  the 
smallest  possible  degree  ?  Learn,  I  say,  that 
you  are  very  unlike  the  Apostle  Paul.  Learn 
that  your  religion  is  not  apostolical  religion. 

Who  is  there  among  the  readers  of  this  tract 
that  trusts  in  his  churchmanship  for  salvation  ? 
Who  is  there  that  is  valuing  himself  on  his 
baptism,  or  his  attendance  at  the  Lord's  table, 
— his  church-going  on  Sundays,  or  his  daily 
services  during  the  week, — and  saying  to 
himself.  What  lack  I  yet?  Learn,  I  say,  this 
day,  that  you  are  very  unlike  Paul.  Your 
Christianity  is  not  the  Christianity  of  the  New 
Testament.  Paul  would  not  glory  in  anything 
but  the  cross.     Neither  ought  you. 

Oh!    reader,  beware   of  self-righteousness. 


26S     "what  think  yotj  of  the  cross?" 

Open  sin  kills  its  thousands  of  souls.  Self- 
righteousness  kills  its  tens  of  thousands.  Go 
and  study  humility  with  the  great  apostle  of 
the  Gentiles.  Go  and  sit  with  Paul  at  the 
foot  of  the  cross.  Give  up  .your  secret  pride. 
Cast  away  your  vain  ideas  of  your  own  good- 
ness. Be  thankful  if  you  have  grace,  but 
never  glory  in  it  for  a  moment.  Work  for 
God  and  Christ  with  heart  and  soul  and  mind 
and  strength,  but  never  dream  for  a  second 
of  placing  confidence  in  any  work  of  your 
own. 

,  Think,  you  who  take  comfort  in  some  fan- 
cied ideas  of  your  own  goodness, — think,  you 
who  wrap  up  yourselves  in  the  notion,  "  all 
must  be  right,  if  I  keep  to  my  church," — 
think  for  a  moment  what  a  sandy  foundation 
you  are  building  upon  !  Think  for  a  moment 
how  miserably  defective  your  hopes  and  pleas 
will  look  in  the  hour  of  death,  and  in  the 
day  of  judgment !  Whatever  men  may  say 
of  their  own  goodness  while  they  are  strong 
and  healthy,  they  will  find  but  little  to  say  of 
it,  when  they  are  sick  and  dying.     Whatever 


"what  think  you  of  the  ceoss?"    269 

merit  they  may  see  in  their  own  works  here 
in  this  w^orld,  they  will  discover  none  in  them 
when  they  stand  before  the  bar   of   Christ. 
The   light   of  that   great  day  of  assize  will 
make  a  wonderful  difference   in  the  appear- 
ance of  all  their  doings.     It  will  strip  off  the 
tinsel,  shrivel  up  the  complexion,  expose  the 
rottenness,  of  many  a  deed  that  is  now  called 
good.     Their  wheat  will  prove  nothing  but 
chaff.     Their  gold  will  be  found  nothing  but 
dross.     Millions  of  so-called  Christian  actions, 
will  turn  out  to  have  been  utterly  defective 
and    graceless.      They   passed    current,   and 
were  valued  among  men.     They  will  prove 
light  and  worthless  in  the  balance    of  God. 
They  will   be    found  to  have  been  like  the 
whitened  sepulchres  of  old,  fair  and  beautiful 
without,  but  full  of  corruption  within.    Alas ! 
for  the  man  who  can  look  forward  to  the  day 
of  judgment,  and  lean  his  soul  in  the  smallest 
degree  on  anything  of  his  own!* 

*  "  Howsoever  men  when  they  sit  at  ease,  do  vainly  tickle 
their  own  hearts  with  the  wanton  conceit  of  I  know  not 
what  proportionable  correspondence  between  their  merits 


Eeader,  once  more  I  say,  beware  of  self- 
rigliteousness  in  every  possible  shape  and 
form.  Some  people  get  as  much  harm  from 
their  fancied  virtues  as  others  do  from  their 
sins.  Take  heed,  lest  you  be  one.  Eest  not, 
rest  not  till  your  heart  beats  in  tune  with 
St.  Paul's.  Best  not  till  you  can  say  with 
him,  "  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory  in 
anything  but  the  cross." 

II.  Let  me  explain  in  the  second  place, 
what  you  are  to  understand  hy  the  cross  of  Christ, 

The  cross  is  an  expression  that  is  used  in 
more  than  one  meaning  in  the  Bible.     What 

and  their  rewards,  which  in  the  trance  of  their  high  specula- 
tions, they  dream  that  God  hath  measured  and  laid  up  a&  it 
were  in  bundles  for  them ; — we  see,  notwithstanding,  bj  dailj 
experience,  in  a  number  even  of  them,  that  when  the  hour 
of  death  approacheth,  when  they  secretly  hear  themselves 
summoned  to  appear  and  stand  at  the  bar  of  that  Judge, 
whose  brightness  causeth  the  eyes  of  angels  themselves  to 
dazzle,  all  those  idle  imaginations  do  then  begin  to  hide 
their  faces.  To  name  merits  then  is  to  lay  their  souls  upon 
the  rack.  The  memory  of  their  own  deeds  is  loathsome 
unto  them.  They  forsake  all  things  wherein  they  have  put 
any  trust  and  confidence.  No  staff  to  lean  upon,  no  rest,  no 
ease,  no  comfort  then,  but  only  in  Christ  Jesus." — Richard 
Hooker.    1585. 


'*WHAT   THINK   YOU    OF   THE   CEOSS  ?"       271 

did  St.  Paul  mean  when  he  said,  "I  glorj  in 
the  cross  of  Christ,"  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ga-* 
latians  ?  This  is  the  point  I  now  wish  to  make 
clear. 

The  cross  sometimes  means  that  wooden 
cross,  on  which  the  Lord  Jesus  was  nailed  and 
put  to  death  on  Mount  Calvary.  This  is  what 
St.  Paul  had  in  his  mind's  eye,  when  he  told 
the  Philippians  that  Christ  "  became  obedient 
unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross." 
(Phil.  ii.  8.)  This  is  not  the  cross  in  which 
St.  Paul  gloried.  He  would  have  shrunk  with 
horror  from  the  idea  of  glorying  in  a  mere 
piece  of  wood.  I  have  no  doubt  he  would 
have  denounced  the  Koman  Catholic  adora- 
tion of  the  crucifix,  as  profane,  blasphemous, 
and  idolatrous.  ' 

The  cross  sometimes  means  the  afilictions 
and  trials  which  believers  in  Christ  have  to  go 
through  if  they  follow  Christ  faithfully,  for 
their  religion's  sake.  This  is  the  sense  in 
which  our  Lord  uses  the  word  when  he  says, 
*'  He  that  taketh  not  his  cross  and  followeth 
after  me,  cannot  be  my  disciple."    (Matt.  x. 


J 


38.)  This  also  is  not  the  sense  in  which  Paul 
uses  the  word  when  he  writes  to  the  Galatians. 
He  knew  that  cross  well.  He  carried  it  pa- 
tiently.    But  he  is  not  speaking  of  it  here. 

But  the  cross  also  means  in  some  places  the 
doctrine  that  Christ  died  for  sinners  upon  the 
cross, — the  atonement  that  He  made  for  sin- 
ners, by  His  suffering  for  them  on  the  cross, 
- — the  complete  and  perfect  sacrifice  for  sin 
which  He  offered  up,  when  He  gave  His  own 
body  to  be  crucified.  In  short,  this  one  word, 
"the  cross,"  stands  for  Christ  crucified,  the 
only  Saviour.  This  is  the  meaning  in  which 
Paul  uses  the  expression,  when  he  tells  the 
Corinthians,  "  the  preaching  of  the  cross  is  to 
them  that  perish  foolishness."  (1  Cor.  i.  18). 
This  is  the  meaning  in  which  he  wrote  to  the 
Galatians,  "  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory, 
save  in  the  cross."  He  simply  meant,  "  I 
glory  in  nothing  but  Christ  crucified,  as  the 
salvation  of  my  soul."* 

*  "  By  the  cross  of  Ctrist  the  apostle  understandeth  the 
all-sufRcient,  expiatory,  and  satisfactory  sacrifice  of  Christ 
upoa  the  cross,  with  the  whole  work  of  our  redemption  :  in 


Eeader,  Jesus  Christ  crucified  was  the  joy 
and  delight,  the  comfort  and  the  peace,  the 
hope  and  the  confidence,  the  foundation  and 
the  resting  place,  the  ark  and  the  refuge,  the 
food  and  the  medicine  of  Paul's  soul.  He  did 
not  think  of  what  he  had  done  himself,  and 
suffered  himself.  He  did  not  meditate  on  his 
own  goodness,  and  his  own  righteousness.  He 
loved  to  think  of  what  Christ  had  done,  and 
Christ  had  suffered, — of  the  death  of  Christ, 
the  righteousness  of  Christ,  the  atonement 
of  Christ,  the  blood  of  Christ,  the  finished 
work  of  Christ.  In  this  he  did  glory.  This 
was  the  sun  of  his  soul. 

This  is  the  subject  he  loved  to  preach  about. 
He  was  a  man  who  went  to  and  fro  on  the 


the  saving  knowledge  of,  whereof  he  professeth  he  will  glory 
and  boast." — Cudworth  on  Galatians.  1613. 

"  Touching  these  words,  I  do  not  find  that  any  expositor, 
either  ancient  or  modern.  Popish  or  Protestant,  writing  on 
this  place,  doth  expound  the  cross  here  mentioned  of  the 
sign  of  the  cross,  but  of  the  profession  of  faith  in  Him  that 
was  hanged  on  the  cross." — Mayer's  Commentary.  1631. 

"This  is  rather  to  be  understood  of  the  cross  which 
Christ  suffered  for  us,  than  of  that  we  suffer  for  Him." — 
Leigh's  Annotations.  1650. 

18 


earth,  proclaiming  to  sinners  that  the  Son  of 
God  had  shed  His  own  heart's  blood  to  save 
their  souls.  He  walked  up  and  down  the 
world  telling  people  that  Jesus  Christ  had 
loved  them,  and  died  for  their  sins  upon  the 
cross.  Mark  how  he  says  to  the  Corinthians, 
"  I  delivered  unto  you  first  of  all  that  which 
I  also  received,  how  that  Christ  died  for  our 
sins."  (1  Cor.  xv.  8.)  "I  determined  not  to 
know  anything  among  you  save  Jesus  Christ 
and  him  crucified."  (1  Cor.  ii.  2.)  He, — a 
blaspheming,  persecuting  Pharisee,  had  been 
washed  in  Christ's  blood.  He  could  not  hold 
his  peace  about  it.  He  was  never  weary  of 
telling  the  story  of  the  cross. 

This  is  the  subject  he  loved  to  dwell  upon 
when  he  wrote  to  believers.  It  is  wonderful  to 
observe  how  full  his  epistles  generally  are  of 
the  sufferings  and  death  of  Christ, — how  they 
run  over  with  "  thoughts  that  breathe,  and 
words  that  burn"  about  Christ's  dying  love 
and  power.  His  heart  seems  full  of  the  sub- 
ject. He  enlarges  on  it  constantly.  He  re- 
turns to  it  continually.     It  is  the  golden  thread 


that  runs  through:  all  his  doctrinal  teaching 
and  practical  exhortation.  He  seems  to  think 
that  the  most  advanced  Christian  can  never 
hear  too  much  of  the  cross.* 

This  is  what  he  lived  upon  all  his  life,  from 
the  time  of  his  conversion.  He  tells  the  Gala- 
tians,  "  The  life  that  I  now  live  in  the  flesh  I 
live  by  the  faith  of  the  son  of  God,  who  loved 
me  and  gave  himself  for  me."  (Galat.  ii.  20.) 
What  made  him  so  strong  to  labor?  What 
made  him  so  willing  to  work  ?  What  made 
him  so  unwearied  in  endeavoring  to  save 
some  ?  What  made  him  so  persevering  and 
patient  ?  I  will  tell  you  the  secret  of  it  all. 
He  was  always  feeding  by  faith  on  Christ's 
body  and  Christ's  blood.  Jesus  crucified  was 
the  meat  and  drink  of  his  soul. 

And,  reader,  you  may  rest  assured  that  Paul 
was  right.  Depend  upon  it,  the  cross  of  Christ, 
• — the  death  of  Christ  on  the  cross  to  make 

*  "  Christ  crucified  is  the  sum  of  the  Gospel,  and  contains 
all  the  riches  of  it.  Paul  was  so  much  taken  with  Christ, 
that  nothing  sweeter  than  Jesus  could  drop  from  his  pen  and 
lips.  It  is  observed  that  he  hath  the  word  "  Jesus"  five 
huudi-ed  times  in  his  Epistles." — Charnock.  1684. 


atonement  for  sinners, — is  tlie  centre  truth  in 
the  whole  Bible.  This  is  the  truth  we  begin 
with  when  we  open  Genesis.  The  seed  of  the 
woman  bruising  the  serpent's  head  is  nothing 
else  but  a  prophecy  of  Christ  crucified.  This 
is  the  truth  that  shines  out,  though  veiled,  all 
through  the  law  of  Moses  and  the  history  of 
the  Jews.  The  daily  sacrifice,  the  passover 
lamb,  the  continual  shedding  of  blood  in  the 
tabernacle  and  temple, — all  these  were  em- 
blems of  Christ  crucified.  This  is  the  truth 
that  we  see  honored  in  the  vision  of  heaven 
before  we  close  the  book  of  Eevelation.  "  In 
the  midst  of  the  throne  and  of  the  four 
beasts,"  we  are  told,  "  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
elders,  stood  a  Lamb  as  it  had  been  slain." 
(Eev.  V.  6.)  Even  in  the  midst  of  heavenly 
glory  we  get  a  view  of  Christ  crucified.  Take 
away  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  the  Bible  is  a 
dark  book.  It  is  like  the  Egyptian  hiero- 
glyphics, without  the  key  that  interprets  their 
meaning, — curious  and  wonderful,  but  of  no 
real  use. 

Header,  mark  what  I  say.     You  may  know 


"what  think  you  of  the  cross?"    277 

a  good  deal  about  tlie  Bible.  You  may  know 
tlie  outlines  of  tbe  histories  it  contains,  and 
the  dates  of  the  events  described,  just  as  a  . 
man  knows  the  history  of  England.  You 
may  know  the  names  of  the  men  and  women 
mentioned  in  it,  just  as  a  man  knows  Cassar, 
Alexander  the  Great,  or  Napoleon.  You  may 
know  the  several  precepts  of  the  Bible,  and 
admire  them,  just  as  a  man  admires  Plato, 
Aristotle,  or  Seneca.  But  if  you  have  not  yet 
found  out  that  Christ  crucified  is  the  founda- 
tion of  the  whole  volume,  you  have  read  your 
Bible  hitherto  to  very  little  profit.  Your  reli- 
gion is  a  heaven  without  a  sun,  an  arch  with- 
out a  keystone,  a  compass  without  a  needle,  a 
clock  without  spring  or  weights,  a  lamp  with- 
out oil.  It  will  not  comfort  you.  It  will  not 
deliver  your  soul  from  hell.  "~^ 

Eeader,  mark  what  I  say  again.  You  may  ~ 
know  a  good  deal  about  Christ,  by  a  kind  of 
head  knowledge.  You  may  know  who  He 
was,  and  where  He  was  born,  and  what  He 
did.  You  may  know  His  miracles,  His  sayings, 
His  prophecies,   and   His  ordinances.      You 


may  know  how-  He  lived,  and  how  He  suf- 
fered, and  how  He  died.  But  unless  you 
know  the  power  of  Christ's  cross  by  experi- 
ence,— unless  you  know  and  feel  within  that 
the  blood  shed  on  that  cross  has  washed  away 
your  own  particular  sins, — unless  you  are  will- 
ing to  confess  that  your  salvation  depends  en- 
tirely on  the  work  that  Christ  did  upon  the 
cross, — unless  this  be  the  case,  Christ  will  pro- 
fit you  nothing.  The  mere  knowing  Christ's 
name  will  never  save  you.  You  must  know 
His  cross,  and  His  blood,  or  else  you  will  die 
in  your  sins.* 

Keader,  as  long  as  you  live,  beware  of  a  reli- 
gion in  which  there  is  not  much  of  the  cross.  You 
live  in  times  when  the  warning  is  sadly  need- 
ful. Beware,  I  say  again,  of  a  religion  with- 
out the  cross. 

There  are  hundreds  of  places  of  worship  in 

*  "  If  our  faith  stop  in  Christ's  life,  and  do  not  fasten 
upon  his  blood,  it  will  not  be  a  justifying  faith.  His  mir- 
acles, which  prepared  the  world  for  his  doctrines  ;  his  holi- 
ness, which  fitted  himself  for  his  sufferings,  had  been  insuf- 
fieent  for  us  without  the  addition  of  the  cross." — Charnoch 
1684. 


this  day,  in  whicli  there  is  everything  almost 
except  the  cross.  There  is  carved  oak,  and 
sculptured  stone.  There  is  stained  glass,  and 
brilliant  painting.  There  are  solemn  services, 
and  a  constant  round  of  ordinances.  But  the 
real  cross  of  Christ  is  not  there.  Jesus  cruci- 
fied is  not  proclaimed  in  the  pulpit.  The  Lamb 
of  God  is  not  lifted  up,  and  salvation  by  faith 
in  Him  is  not  freely  proclaimed.  And  hence 
all  is  wrong.  Eeader,  beware  of  such  places 
of  worship.  They  are  not  apostolical.  They 
would  not  have  satisfied  St.  Paul.* 

There  are  thousands  of  religious  books  pub- 
lished in  our  times,  in  which  there  is  every- 
thing except  the  cross.  They  are  full  of  di- 
rections about  sacraments,  and  praises  of  the 
church.  They  abound  in  exhortations  about 
holy  living,  and  rules  for  the  attainment  of 
perfection.  They  have  plenty  of  fonts  and 
crosses  both  inside  and  outside.     But  the  real 

"^  "  Paul  determined  to  knovsr  nothing  else  but  Jesus 
Christ  and  him  crucified.  But  many  manage  the  ministry 
as  if  they  had  taken  up  a  contrary  determination,  even  to 
know  anything  save  Jesus  Chi'ist  and  him  crucified." — 
Traill.     1690. 


280     "what  think  you  of  the  cross 


2" 


cross  of  Christ  is  left  out.  The  Saviour  and 
his  dying  love  are  either  not  mentioned,  or 
mentioned  in  an  unscriptural  way.  And  hence 
they  are  worse  than  useless.  Eeader,  beware 
of  such  books.  They  are  not  apostolical.  They 
would  never  have  satisfied  St.  Paul. 

Eeader,  St.  Paul  gloried  in  nothing  but  the 
cross.  Strive  to  be  like  him.  Set  Jesus  cru- 
cified fully  before  the  eyes  of  your  soul.  Lis- 
ten not  to  any  teaching  which  would  interpose 
anything  between  you  and  Him.  Do  not  fall 
into  the  old  Galatian  error:;  Think  not  that 
any  one  in  this  day  is  a  better  guide  than  the 
apostles.  Do  not  be  ashamed  of  the  old  paths, 
in  which  men  walked  who  were  inspired  by 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Let  not  the  vague  talk  of 
men,  who  speak  great  swelling  words  about 
catholicity,  and  the  church,  and  the  ministry, 
disturb  your  peace,  and  make  you  loose  your 
hands  from  the  cross.  Churches,  ministers; 
and  sacraments,  are  all  useful  in  their  way, 
but  they  are  not  Christ  crucified.  Do  not 
give  Christ's  honor  to  another.  "  He  that  glo- 
rieth,  let  him  glory  in  the  Lord." 


"what  think  yoit  of  the  cross?"    281 

III.  Let  me  show  you  why  all  Christians 
ought  to  ghry  in  the  cross  of  Christ. 

I  feel  that  I  mnst  say  something  on  this 
point,  because  of  the  ignorance  that  prevails 
about  it.  I  suspect  that  many  see  no  peculiar 
glory  and  beauty  in  the  subject  of  Christ's 
cross.  On  the  contrary,  they  think  it  painful, 
humbling,  and  degrading.  They  do  not  see 
much  profit  in  the  story  of  His  death  and  suf- 
ferings. They  rather  turn  from  it  as  an  un- 
pleasant thing. 

Now,  I  believe  that  such  persons  are  quite 
wrong.  I  cannot  hold  with  them.  I  believe 
it  is  an  excellent  thing  for  us  all  to  be  contin- 
ually dwelling  on  the  cross  of  Christ.  It  is  a 
good  thing  to  be  often  reminded  how  Jesus 
was  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  wicked  men, — 
how  they  condemned  Him  with  most  unjust 
judgment, — how  they  spit  on  Him,  scourged 
Him,  beat  Him,  and  crowned  Him  with  thorns, 
— how  they  led  him  forth  as  a  lamb  to  the 
slaughter,  without  His  murmuring  or  resist- 
ing,— how  they  drove  the  nails  through  His 
hands  and  feet,  and  set  Him  up  on  Calvary 


L. 


between  two  thieves, — ^how  they  pierced  His 
side  with  a  spear,  mocked  Him  in  His  suffer- 
ings, and  let  Him  hang  there  naked  and  bleed- 
ing till  He  died.  Of  all  these  things,  I  say,  it 
is  good  to  be  reminded.  It  is  not  for  nothing 
that  the  crucifixion  is  described  four  times 
over  in  the  Kew  Testament.  There  are  very 
few  things  that  all  the  four  writers  of  the  Gos- 
pel describe.  Generally  speaking,  if  Matthew, 
Mark,  and  Luke,  tell  a  thing  in  our  Lord's  his- 
tory, John  does  not  tell  it.  But  there  is  one 
thing  that  all  the  four  give  us  most  fully,  and 
that  one  thing  is  the  story  of  the  cross.  This 
is  a  telling  fact,  and  not  to  be  overlooked. 

People  seem  to  me  to  forget  that  all  Christ's 
sufferings  on  the  cross  were  fore-ordained. 
They  did  not  come  on  Him  by  chance  or 
accident.  They  were  all  planned,  counselled, 
and  determined  from  all  eternity.  The  cross 
was  foreseen  in  all  the  provisions  of  the  ever- 
lasting Trinity,  for  the  salvation  of  sinners. 
In  the  purposes  of  God  the  cross  was  set  up 
from  everlasting.  Not  one  throb  of  pain  did 
Jesus  feel,  not  one  precious  drop  of  blood  did 


Jesus  shed,  which  had  not  been  appointed 
long  ago.  Infinite  wisdom  planned  that  re- 
demption should  be  by  the  cross.  Infinite 
wisdom  brought  Jesus  to  the  cross  in  due 
time.  He  was  crucified  by  the  determined 
counsel  and  fore-knowledge  of  Grod. 

People  seem  to  me  to  forget  that  all  Christ's 
sufferings  on  the  cross  were  necessary  fof 
•marHs  salvation.  He  had  to  bear  our  sins,  if 
ever  they  were  to  be  borne  at  all.  With  His 
stripes  alone  could  we  be  healed.  This  was 
the  one  payment  of  our  debt  that  God  would 
accept.  This  was  the  great  sacrifice  on  which 
our  eternal  life  depended.  If  Christ  had  not 
gone  to  the  cross  and  suffered  in  our  stead, 
the  just  for  the  unjust,  there  would  not  have 
been  a  spark  of  hope  for  us.  There  would 
have  been  a  mighty  gulf  between  ourselves  and 
God,  which  no  man  ever  could  have  passed.* 

People  seem  to  me  to  forget  that  all  Christ's 
sufferings  were  endured  voluntarily  and  of  His 

*  "  In  Christ's  humiliation  stands  our  exaltation ;  in  His 
weakness  stands  our  strength ;  in  His  ignominy  our  gloiy  ; 
in  His  death  our  life." — Cvdworth.     1613. 

"  The  eye  of  faith  regards  Christ  sitting  on  the  summit 


own  free  will.  He  was  under  no  compulsion. 
Of  His  own  choice  He  laid  down  His  life.  Of 
His  own  choice  He  went  to  the  cross  to  finish 
the  work  He  came  to  do.  He  might  easily 
have  summoned  legions  of  angels  with  a  word, 
and  scattered  Pilate  and  Herod  and  all  their 
armies,  like  chaff  before  the  wind.  But  He 
was  a  willing  sufferer.  His  heart  was  set  on 
the  salvation  of  sinners.  He  was  resolved  to 
open  a  fountain  for  all  sin  and  uncleanness,  by 
shedding  His  own  blood. 

Eeader,  when  I  think  of  all  this,  I  sec 
nothing  painful  or  disagreeable  in  the  subject 
of  Christ's  cross.  On  the  contrary,  I  see  in  it 
wisdom  and  power,  peace  and  hope,  joy  and 
gladness,  comfort  and  consolation.  The  more 
I  keep  the  cross  in  my  mind's  eye,  the  more 
fulness  I  seem  to  discern  in  it.  The  longer  I 
dwell  on  the  cross  in  my  thoughts,  the  more 
I  am  satisfied  that  there  is  more  to  be  learned 
at  the  foot  of  the  cross  than  anywhere  else  in 
the  world. 

of  the  cross,  as  in  a  triuniplial  chariot ;  the  devil  bound  to 
the  lowest  part  of  the  same  cross,  and  trodden  under  the 
feet  of  Christ." — Bishop  Davenant  on  Colossians.     1627. 


"what  think  tou  of  the  ceoss?"     285 

Would  I  know  the  lengtli  and  breadth  of 
God  the  Father's  love  towards  a  sinful  world  ? 
Where  shall  I  see  it  most  displayed  ?  Shall 
I  look  at  His  glorious  sun  shining  down  daily 
on  the  unthankful  and  evil?  Shall  I  look  at 
seed-time  and  harvest  returning  in  regular 
yearly  succession  ?  Oh !  no !  I  can  find  a 
stronger  proof  of  love  than  anything  of  this 
sort.  I  look  at  the  cross  of  Christ.  I  see 
in  it  not  the  cause  of  the  Father's  love,  but 
the  effect.  There  I  see  that  God  so  loved 
this  wicked  world,  that  He  gave  His  only 
begotten  Son, — gave  Him  to  suffer  and  die, 
— that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should 
not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life.  I  know 
that  the  Father  loves  us  because  He  did  not 
withhold  from  us  His  Son,  His  only  Son. 
Ah !  reader,  I  might  sometimes  fancy  that 
God  the  Father  is  too  high  and  holy  to  care 
for  such  miserable,  corrupt  creatures  as  we 
are.  But  I  cannot,  must  not,  dare  not  think 
it,  when  I  look  at  the  cross  of  Christ.* 

*  "  The  world  we  live  in  had  fallen  upon  our  heads,  had 
it  not  been  upheld  by  the  pillar  of  the  cross ;  had  not 


Would  I  know  how  exceedingly  sinful  and 
^'         ahominaUe  sin  is  in  the  sight  of  God  ?    Where 
shall    I  see   that   most  fully  brought    out? 
Shall  I  turn  to  the  history  of  the  flood,  and 
read    how  sin  drowned  the  world  ?     Shall  I 
go  to  the  shore  of  the  Dead  Sea,  and  mark 
what  sin  brought  on  Sodom  and  Gomorrah? 
Shall  I  turn  to  the  wandering  Jews,  and  ob- 
serve how  sin  has  scattered  them  over  the  face 
of  the  earth  ?     No  !  I  can  find  a  clearer  proof 
still.     I  look  at  the  cross  of  Christ.     There  I 
see  that  sin  is  so  black  and  damnable,  that 
nothing  but  tiie  blood  of  God's  own  Son  can 
wash  it  away.     There  I  see  that  sin  has  so 
separated  me  from  my  holy  Maker,  that  all 
the  angels  in  heaven  could  never  have  made 
peace  between  us.     Nothing  could  reconcile 
us    short  of  the   death  of  Christ.     Ah !  if  I 
listened  to  the  wretched  talk  of  proud  men,  I 
might  sometimes  fancy  sin  was  not  so  very 

Christ  stepped  in  and  promised  a  satisfaction  for  the  sin  of 
man.  By  this  all  things  consist  >,  not  a  blessing  we  enjoy- 
but  may  put  us  in  mind  of  it ;  they  were  all  forfeited  by  sin 
but  merited  by  his  blood.  If  we  study  it  well  we  shall  be 
sensible  how  God  hateth  sin  and  loved  a  world." — Charnock. 


"what  think  you  of  the  ceoss?"    287 

sinful.     But  I  cannot  think  little  of  sin,  wlien 
I  look  at  the  cross  of  Christ."^ 

Would  I  know  the  fulness  and  completeness' 
of  the  salvation  God  has  provided  for  sinners  ? 
Where  shall  I  see  it  most  distinctly  ?  Shall 
I  go  to  the  general  declarations  of  the  Bible 
about  God's  mercy  ?  Shall  I  rest  in  the  gen- 
eral truth  that  God  is  a  God  of  love  ?  Oh ! 
no!  I  will  look  at  the  cross  of  Christ.  I 
find  no  evidence  like  that.  I  find  no  balm 
for  a  sore  conscience  and  a  troubled  heart, 
like  the  sight  of  Jesus  dying  for  me  on  the 
accursed  tree.  There  I  see  that  a  full  pay- 
ment has  been  made  for  all  my  enormous 
debts.  The  curse  of  that  law  which  I  have 
broken  has  come  down  on  One  who  there 
suffered  in  my  stead.  The  demands  of  that 
law  are  all  satisfied.  Payment  has  been  made 
for  me,  even  to  the  uttermost  farthing.  It 
will  not  be  required  twice  over.     Ah !  I  might 

*  "If  God  hateth  sin  so  much  that  he  would  allow  neither 
man  nor  angel  for  the  redemption  thereof,  but-  only  the 
death  of  his  only  and  well-beloved  Son,  who  will  not  stand 
in  fear  thereof?" — Church  of  England  Homily  for  Good 
Friday.    1560. 


sometimes  imagine  I  was  too  bad  to  be  for- 
given. My  own  heart  sometimes  whispers 
that  I  am  too  wicked  to  be  saved.  But  I 
know  in  my  better  moments  this  is  all  my 
foolish  unbelief.  I  read  an  answer  to  my 
doubts  in  the  blood  shed  on  Calvary.  I  feel 
sure  that  there  is  a  way  to  heaven  for  the 
very  vilest  of  men,  when  I  look  at  the  cross. 
Would  I  find  strong  reasons  for  being  a  holy 
man  f  Whither  shall  I  turn  for  them  ?  Shall 
I  listen  to  the  ten  commandments  merely? 
Shall  I  study  the  examples  given  me  in  the 
Bible  of  what  grace  can  do  ?  Shall  I  medi- 
tate on  the  rewards  of  heaven,  and  the  pun- 
ishments of  hell?  Is  there  no  stronger  motive 
still  ?  Yes  !  I  will  look  at  the  cross  of  Christ. 
There  I  see  the  love  of  Christ  constraining 
me  to  live  not  unto  myself,  but  unto  Him. 
There  I  see  that  I  am  not  my  own  now  ; — I 
am  bought  with  a  price.  I  am  bound  by  the 
most  solemn  obligations  to  glorify  Jesus  with 
body  and  spirit,  which  are  His.  There  I  see 
that  Jesus  gave  himself  for  me,  not  only  to 
redeem    me    from   all    iniquity,  but  also   to 


"what  think  you  of  the  ceoss?"     289 


purify  me  and  make  me  one  of  a  peculiar 
people,  zealous  of  good  works.  He  bore  my 
sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree,  that  I  being 
dead  unto  sin  should  live  unto  righteousness. 
Ah !  reader,  there  is  nothing  so  sanctifying  as 
a  clear  view  of  the  cross  of  Christ !  It  cru- 
cifies the  world  unto  us,  and  us  unto  the 
world.  How  can  we  love  sin  when  we  re- 
member that  because  of  our  sins  Jesus  died? 
Surely  none  ought  to  be  so  holy  as  the  dis- 
ciples of  a  crucified  Lord. 

Would  I  learn  hoiv  to  he  contented  and  cheer- 
ful under  all  the  cares  and  anxieties  of  life  ? 
What  school  shall  I  go  to  ?  How  shall  I  attain 
this  state  of  mind  most  easily  ?  Shall  I  look 
at  the  sovereignty  of  God,  the  wisdom  of  God, 
the  providence  of  God,  the  love  of  God  ?  It 
is  well  to  do  so.  But  I  have  a  better  argu- 
ment still.  I  will  look  at  the  cross  of  Christ. 
I  feel  that  He  who  spared  not  His  only  begot- 
ten Son,  but  delivered  Him  up  to  die  for  me, 
will  surely  with  Him  give  me  all  things  that  I 
really  need.  He  that  endured  that  pain  for 
my  soul,  will  surely  not  withhold  from  me 

19 


anything  that  is  really  good.  He  that  has 
done  the  greater  things  for  me,  will  doubtless 
do  the  lesser  things  also.  He  that  gave  His 
own  blood  to  procure  me  a  home,  will  un- 
questionably supply  me  with  all  really  profit- 
able for  me  by  the  way.  Ah !  reader,  there 
is  no  school  for  learning  contentment  that  can 
be  compared  with  the  foot  of  the  cross. 

Would  I  gather  arguments  for  hoping  that  I 
shall  never  be  cast  away  ?  Where  shall  I  go  to 
find  them?  Shall  I  look  at  my  own  graces 
and  gifts  ?  Shall  I  take  comfort  in  my  own 
faith,  and  love,  and  penitence,  and  zeal,  and 
prayer  ?  Shall  I  turn  to  my  own  heart,  and 
say,  "  this  same  heart  will  never  be  false  and 
cold  ?"  Oh  !  no  !  God  forbid  !  I  will  look  at 
the  cross  of  Christ.  This  is  my  grand  argu- 
ment. This  is  my  main  stay.  I  cannot  think 
that  He  who  went  through  such  sufferings  to 
redeem  my  soul,  will  let  that  soul  perish  after 
all,  when  it  has  once  cast  itself  on  Him.  Oh  ! 
no !  what  Jesus  paid  for,  Jesus  will  surely 
keep.  He  paid  dearly  for  it.  He  will  not  let 
it  easily  be  lost.     He  died  for  me  when  I  was 


yet  a  dark  sinner.  He  will  never  forsake  me 
after  I  have  believed.  All !  reader,  when 
Satan  tempts  you  to  doubt  whether  Christ's 
people  will  be  kept  from  falling,  you  should 
tell  Satan  to  look  at  the  cross.* 

And  now,  reader,  will  you  marvel  that  I 
said  all  Christians  ought  to  glory  in  tbe  cross  ? 
Will  you  not  rather  wonder  that  any  can  hear 
of  the  cross  and  remain  unmoved  ?  I  declare 
I  know  no  greater  proof  of  man's  depravity, 
than  the  fact  that  thousands  of  so-called  Chris- 
tians see  nothing  in  the  cross.  Well  may  our 
hearts  be  called  stony, — well  may  the  eyes  of 
our  mind  be  called  blind, — well  may  our  whole 
nature  be  called  diseased, — well  may  we  all 
be  called  dead,  when  the  cross  of  Christ  is 
heard  of,  and  yet  neglected.  Surely  we  may 
take  up  the  words  of  the  prophet,  and  say, 
"  Hear  0  heavens,  and  be  astonished  0  earth ; 

*  "  The  believer  is  so  freed  from  eternal  wrath,  that  if 
Satan  aud  cooscieuce  say,  "  thou  art  a  sinner,  and  under  the 
curse  of  the  law,"  he  can  say,  it  is  true,  I  am  a  sinner,  but  I 
was  hanged  on  a  tree  and  died,  and  was  made  a  curse  in  my 
Head  and  Lawgiver  Christ,  aud  his  payment  and  suffering 
is  my  payment  and  suffering." — Rutherford's  Christ  Dying. 
1647. 


a  wonderful  and  a  horrible  thing  is  done," — 
Christ  was  crucified  for  sinners,  and  yet  many 
Christians  live  as  if  He  was  never  crucified  at 
all! 

Header,  the  cross  is  the  grand  peculiarity  of 
the  Christian  religion.  Other  religions  have 
laws  and  moral  precepts, — forms  and  ceremo- 
nies,— rewards  and  punishments.  But  other 
religions  cannot  tell  us  of  a  dying  Saviour. 
They  cannot  show  ns  the  cross.  This  is  the 
crown  and  glory  of  the  Gospel.  This  is  that 
special  comfort  which  belongs  to  it  alone. 
Miserable  indeed  is  that  religious  teaching 
which  calls  itself  Christian,  and  yet  contains 
nothing  of  the  cross.  A  man  who  teaches  in 
this  way,  might  as  well  profess  to  explain  the 
solar  system,  and  yet  tell  his  hearers  nothing 
about  the  sun. 

The  cross  is  the  strength  of  a  minister.  I  for 
one  would  not  be  without  it  for  all  the  world. 
I  should  feel  like  a  soldier  without  arms, — like 
an  artist  without  his  pencil, — like  a  pilot  Avith- 
out  his  compass, — like  a  laborer  without  his 
tools.     Let  others,  if  they  will,  preach  the  law 


and  morality.  Let  others  bold  forth  the  ter- 
rors of  hell,  and  the  joys  of  heaven.  Let 
others  drench  their  congregations  with  teach- 
ings about  the  sacraments  and  the  church. 
Give  me  the  cross  of  Christ.  This  is  the  only 
lever  which  has  .ever  turned  the  world  upside 
down  hitherto,  and  made  men  forsake  their 
sins.  And  if  this  will  not,  nothing  will.  A 
man  may  begin  preaching  with  a  perfect  know- 
ledge of  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew.  But  he 
will  do  little  or  no  good  among  his  hearers 
unless  he  knows  something  of  the  cross.  Never 
was  there  a  minister  who  did  much  for  the 
conversion  of  souls  who  did  not  dwell  much 
on  Christ  crucified.  Luther,  Eutherford, 
Whitefield,  M'Cheyne,  were  all  most  eminently 
preachers  of  the  cross.  This  is  the  preaching 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  delights  to  bless.  He 
loves  to  honor  those  who  honor  the  cross. 

The  cross  is  the  secret  of  all  missionary  success. 
Nothing  but  this  has  ever  moved  the  hearts  of 
the  heathen.  Just  according  as  this  has  been 
lifted  up  missions  have  prospered.  This  is 
the  weapon  that  has  won  victories  over  hearts 


294       *'WHAT   THINK    YOtJ   OF   THE   CROSS?" 

of  every  kind,  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe. 
Greenlanders,  Africans,  South-Sea  Islanders, 
Hindoos,  Chinese,  all  have  alike  felt  its  power. 
Just  as  that  huge  iron  tube  which  crosses  the 
Menai  Straits,  is  more  affected  and  bent  by 
half  an  hour's  sunshine  than  by  all  the  dead 
weight  that  can  be  placed  in  it,  so  in  like 
manner  the  hearts  of  savages  have  melted  be- 
fore the  cross,  when  every  other   argument 
seemed  to  move  them  no  more  than  stones. 
"Brethren,"  said  a  North  American  Indian 
after  his  conversion,  *'  I  have  been  a  heathen. 
I  know  how  heathens  think.     Once  a  preach- 
er came  and  began  to  explain  to  us  that  there 
was  a  God  ;  but  we  told  him  to  return  to  the 
place  from  whence  he  came.     Another  preach- 
er came  and  told  us  not  to  lie,  nor  steal,  nor 
drink;    but  we  did  not  heed  him.     At  last 
another  came  into  my  hut  one  day  and  said, 
'  I  am  come  to  you  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
of  heaven  and  earth.     He  sends  to  let  you 
know  that  He  will  make  you  happy,  and  de- 
liver you  from  misery.     For  this  end  He  be- 
came a  man,  gave  His  life  a  ransom,  and  shed 


His  blood  for  sinners.'  I  could  not  forget  his 
words.  I  told  them  to  the  other  Indians,  and 
an  awakening  begun  among  us."  I  say  there- 
fore, preach  the  sufferings  and  death  of  Christ, 
our  Saviour,  if  you  wish  your  words  to  gain 
entrance  among  the  heathen.  Never  indeed 
did  the  devil  triumph  so  thoroughly,  as  when 
he  persuaded  the  Jesuit  missionaries  in  China 
to  keep  back  the  story  of  the  cross  I 

The  cross  is  the  foundation  of  a  church's  pros- 
perity. No  church  will  ever  be  honored  in 
which  Christ  crucified  is  not  continually  lifted 
ap.  Nothing  whatever  can  make  up  for  the 
want  of  the  cross.  Without  it  all  things  may 
be  done  decently  and  in  order.  Without  it 
there  may  be  splendid  ceremonies,  beautiful 
music,  gorgeous  churches,  learned  ministers, 
crowded  communion  tables,  huge  collections  for 
the  poor.  But  without  the  cross  no  good  will 
be  done.  Dark  hearts  will  not  be  enlightened. 
Proud  hearts  will  not  be  humbled.  Mourning 
hearts  will  not  be  comforted.  Fainting  hearts 
will  not  be  cheered.  Sermons  about  the  Catho- 
lic Church  and  an  apostolic  ministry, — sermons 


296     "what  think  you  of  the  cross?" 

about  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper, — ser- 
mons about  unity  and  scbism, — sermons  about 
fasts  and  communion, — sermons  about  fathers 
and  saints, — such  sermons  will  never  make  up 
for  the  absence  of  sermons  about  the  cross  of 
Christ.  They  may  amuse  some.  They  will 
feed  none.  A  gorgeous  banqueting  room  and 
splendid  gold  plate  on  the  table  will  never 
make  up  to  a  hungry  man  for  the  want  of 
food.  Christ  crucified  is  God's  grand  ordi- 
nance for  doing  good  to  men.  Whenever  a 
church  keeps  back  Christ  crucified,  or  puts 
anything  whatever  in  that  foremost  place 
which  Christ  crucified  should  always  have, 
from  that  moment  a  church  ceases  to  be  use- 
ful. Without  Christ  crucified  in  her  pulpits, 
a  church  is  little  better  than  a  cumberer  of  the 
ground,  a  dead  carcass,  a  well  without  water, 
a  barren  fig  tree,  a  sleeping  watchman,  a  silent 
trumpet,  a  dumb  witness,  an  ambassador  with  • 
out  terms  of  peace,  a  messenger  without  tid- 
ings, a  lighthouse  without  fire,  a  stumbling- 
block  to  weak  believers,  a  comfort  to  infidels, 


"what  think  you  of  the  ckoss?"     297 

a  hot-bed  for  formalism,  a  joy  to  the  devil,  and 
an  offence  to  God. 

The  cross  is  the  grand  centime  of  union  among 
true  Christians.  Our  outward  differences  are 
many  without  doubt.  One  man  is  an  Episco- 
palian, another  is  a  Presbyterian, — one  is  an 
Independent,  another  a  Baptist, — one  is  a  Cal- 
vinist,  another  an  Armenian, — one  is  a  Lu- 
theran, another  a  Plymouth  brother, — one  is  a 
friend  to  establishments,  another  a  friend  to 
the  voluntary  system, — one  is  a  friend  to  litur- 
gies, another  a  friend  to  extempore  prayer. 
But  after  all,  what  shall  we  hear  about  most 
of  these  differences  in  heaven  ?  Nothing,  most 
probably :  nothing  at  all.  Does  a  man  really 
and  sincerely  glory  in  the  cross  of  Christ?  That 
is  the  grand  question.  If  he  does,  he  is  my 
brother ; — we  are  travelling  in  the  same  road. 
We  are  journeying  towards  a  home  where 
Christ  is  all,  and  everything  outward  in  reli- 
gion will  be  forgotten.  But  if  he  does  not 
glory  in  the  cross  of  Christ,  I  cannot  feel  com- 
fort about  him.  Union  on  outward  points  only 
is  union  only  for  time. — Union  about  the  cross 


208     "what  think  you  of  the  ceoss?" 

is  union  for  eternity.  Error  on  outward  points 
is  only  a  skin-deep  disease.  Error  about  the 
cross  is  disease  at  tbe  heart.  Union  about  out- 
ward points  is  a  mere  man-made  union.  Union 
about  the  cross  of  Christ  can  only  be  pro- 
duced by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Eeader,  I  know  not  what  you  think  of  all 
this.  I  feel  as  if  I  had  said  nothing  compared 
to  what  might  be  said.  I  feel  as  if  the  half 
of  what  I  desire  to  tell  you  about  the  cross 
were  left  untold.  But  I  do  hope  that  I  have 
given  you  something  to  think  about.  I  do 
trust  that  I  have  shown  you  that  I  have  reason 
for  the  question  with  which  I  began  this  tract, 
"  What  do  you  think  and  feel  about  the  cross 
of  Christ  ?"  Listen  to  me  now  for  a  few  mo- 
ments, while  I  say  something  to  apply  the 
whole  subject  to  your  conscience. 

^re  you  living  in  any  kind  of  sin  f  Are  you 
following  the  course  of  this  world,  and  neg- 
lecting your  soul  ?  Hear,  I  beseech  you,  what 
I  say  to  you  this  day:  "  Behold  the  cross  of 
Christ."  See  there  how  Jesus  loved  you ! 
See  there  what  Jesus  suffered  to  prepare  for 


"what  think  you  of  the  cross?"     299 

you  a  way  of  salvation !  Yes !  careless  men 
and  women,  for  you  that  blood  was  shed  ! 
For  you  those  hands  and  feet  were  pierced 
with  nails !  For  you  that  body  hung  in  agony 
on  the  cross !  You  are  those  whom  Jesus 
loved,  and  for  whom  He  died !  Surely  that 
love  ought  to  melt  you.  Surely  the  thought 
of  the  cross  should  draw  you  to  repentance. 
Oh !  that  it  might  be  so  this  very  day.  Oh  ! 
that  you  would  come  at  once  to  that  Saviour 
who  died  for  you,  and  is  willing  to  save. 
Come  and  cry  to  Him  with  the  prayer  of  faith, 
and  I  know  that  He  will  listen.  Come  and 
la}'^  hold  upon  the  cross,  and  I  know  that  He 
will  not  cast  you  out.  Come  and  believe  on 
Him  who  died  on  the  cross,  and  this  very  day 
you  shall  have  eternal  life.  How  will  you 
ever  escape  if  you  neglect  so  great  salvation  ? 
jSTone  surely  will  be  so  deep  in  hell  as  those 
who  despise  the  cross  ! 

Are  you  inquiring  the  way  toward  heaven? 
Are  you  seeking  salvation,  but  doubtful  whe- 
ther you  can  find  it  ?  Are  you  desiring  to 
have  an  interest  in  Christ,  but  doubting  whe- 


ther  Christ  will  receive  you?  To  you  also  I 
say  this  day,  ''Behold  the  cross  of  Christ." 
Here  is  encouragement  if  you  really  want  it. 
Draw  near  to  the  Lord  Jesus  with  boldness, 
for  nothing  need  keep  you  back.  His  arms  are 
open  to  receive  you.  His  heart  is  full  of  love 
towards  you.  He  has  made  a  way  by  which 
you  may  approach  him  with  confidence.  Think 
of  the  cross.     Draw  near,  and  fear  not. 

Are  you  an  unlearned  man  ?  Are  you  desir- 
ous to  get  to  heaven,  and  yet  perplexed  and 
brought  to  a  stand-still  by  difl&culties  in  the 
Bible  which  you  cannot  explain  ?  To  you 
also  I  say  this  day,  "Behold  the  cross  of 
Christ."  Eead  there  the  Father's  love  and 
the  Son's  compassion.  Surely  they  are  writ- 
ten in  great  plain  letters,  which  none  can 
well  mistake.  What  though  you  are  now 
perplexed  by  the  doctrine  of  election  ?  What 
though  at  present  you  cannot  reconcile  your 
own  utter  corruption  and  your  own  responsi- 
bility ?  Look,  I  say,  at  the  cross.  Does  not 
that  cross  tell  you  that  Jesus  is  a  mighty, 
loving,   ready  Saviour?      Does  it  not  make 


one  thing  plain,  and  that  is  that  if  not  saved 
it  is  all  your  own  fault?  Oh !  get  hold  of 
that  truth,  and  hold  it  fast. 

Are  you  a  distressed  believer  f  Is  your  heart 
pressed  down  with  sickness,  tired  with  disap- 
pointments, overburdened  with  cares  ?  To  you 
also  I  say  this  day,  "Behold  the  cross  of 
Christ."  Think  whose  hand  it  is  that  chas- 
tens you.  Think  whose  hand  is  measuring 
to  you  the  cup  of  bitterness  which  you  are 
now  drinking.  It  is  the  hand  of  Him  that 
was  crucified.  It  is  the  same  hand  that  in 
love  to  your  soul  was  nailed  to  the  accursed 
tree.  Surely  that  thought  should  comfort 
and  hearten  you.  Surely  you  should  say  to 
yourself,  "  A  crucified  Saviour  will  never  lay 
upon  me  anything  that  is  not  good  for  me. 
There  is  a  needs  be.     It  must  be  well." 

Are  you  a  heliever  that  longs  to  he  more  holy  ? 
Are  you  one  that  finds  his  heart  too  ready  to 
love  earthly  things?  To  you  also  I  say,  "Be- 
hold the  cross  of  Christ."  Look  at  the  cross. 
Think  of  the  cross.  Meditate  on  the  cross, 
and  then  go  and  set  affections  on  the  world  if 


you  can.  I  believe  that  holiness  is  nowhere 
learned  so  well  as  on  Calvary.  I  believe  you 
cannot  look  much  at  the  cross  without  feeling 
your  will  sanctified,  and  your  tastes  made 
more  spiritual.  As  the  sun,  gazed  upon,  makes 
everything  else  look  dark  and  dim,  so  does 
the  cross  darken  the  false  splendor  of  this 
world.  As  honey  tasted  makes  all  other 
things  seem  to  have  no  taste  at  all,  so  does 
the  cross  seen  by  faith  take  all  the  sweetness 
out  of  the  pleasures  of  the  world.  Keep  on 
every  day  steadily  looking  at  the  cross  of 
Christ,  and  you  will  soon  say  of  the  world  as 
the  poet  does, — 

"  Its  pleasures  now  no  longer  please, 
No  more  content  afford ; 
Far  from  my  heart  be  joys  like  these, 
Now  I  have  seen  the  Lord. 

As  by  the  liglit  of  opening  day 

The  stars  are  all  conceal'd, 
So  earthly  pleasures  fade  away 

When  Jesus  is  reveal'd." 

Are  you  a  dying  believer?  Have  you  gone  to 
that  bed  from  which  something  within  tells 
you,  you  will  never  come  down  alive  ?     Are 


you  drawing  near  to  that  solemn  hour  when 
soul  and  body  must  part  for  a  season,  and  you 
must  launch  into  a  world  unknown  ?  Oh  ! 
look  steadily  at  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  you 
shall  be  kept  in  peace.  Fix  the  eyes  of  your 
mind  firmly  on  Jesus  crucified,  and  He  shall 
deliver  you  from  all  your  fears.  Though  you 
walk  through  dark  places.  He  will  be  with 
you.  He  will  never  leave  you, — never  forsake 
you.  Sit  under  the  shadow  of  the  cross  to 
the  very  last,  and  its  fruit  shall  be  sweet  to 
your  taste.  "  Ah  !"  said  a  dying  missionary, 
"  there  is  but  one  thing  needful  on  a  death- 
bed, and  that  is  to  feel  one's  arms  round  the 


57 


cross. 

Eeader,  I  lay  these  thoughts  before  your 
mind.  What  you  think  now  about  the  cross 
of  Christ,  I  cannot  tell ;  but  I  can  wish  you 
nothing  better  than  this,  that  you  may  be 
able  to  say  with  the  apostle  Paul,  before  you 
die  or  meet  the  Lord,  "  God  forbid  that  I 
should  glory  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ." 


"  I  am  now  ready  to  "be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my  de- 
parture is  at  hand. 

"  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course, 
I  have  kept  the  faith  : 

"  Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  cro"wn  of  right- 
eousness, -which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge,  shall 
give  me  at  that  day  ;  and  not  to  me  only,  hut  unto 
all  them  also  that  love  his  appearing." — 2  Tim.  iv.  6, 
7,  8. 

In  these  words  you  see  the  Apostle  Paul 
looking  three  ways, — downward,  backward, 
forward  ;  —  downward  to  the  grave,  —  back- 
ward to  his  own  ministry, — forward  to  that 
great  day,  the  day  of  judgment. 

Let  us  stand  by  his  side  a  few  minutes,  and 
mark  the  words  he  uses.  Happy  is  that  soul 
among  us  who  can  look  where  Paul  looked, 
and  then  speak  as  Paul  spoke. 

He  looks  downiuard  to  the  grave,  and  he 
does  it  without  fear.     Hear  what  he  says. 

"  I  am  ready  to  be  offered."     I  am  like  an 


"have  you  assurance?" 


305 


animal  brought  to  the  place  of  sacrifice,  and 
bound  with  cords  to  the  very  horns  of  the  al- 
tar. The  wine  and  oil  have  been  poured  on 
my  head,  according  to  the  custom.  The  last 
ceremonies  have  been  gone  through.  Every 
preparation  has  been  made.  It  only  remains 
to  receive  the  death-blow,  and  then  all  is 
over. 

"  The  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand."  I 
am  like  a  ship  about  to  unmoor,  and  put  to 
sea.  All  on  board  is  ready.  I  only  wait  to 
have  the  moorings  cast  off  that  fasten  me  to 
the  shore,  and  I  shall  then  set  sail,  and  begin 
my  voyage. 

Brethren,  these  are  glorious  words  to  come 
from  the  lips  of  a  child  of  Adam  like  our- 
selves. Death  is  a  solemn  thing,  and  never 
so  much  so  as  when  we  see  it  close  at  hand. 
The  grave  is  a  chilly,  heart-sickening  place, 
and  it  is  vain  to  pretend  it  has  no  terrors. 
Yet  here  is  a  mortal  man,  who  can  look  calm- 
ly iilto  the  narrow  house  appointed  for  all  liv- 
ing, and  say,  while  he  stands  upon  the  brink, 
"  I  see  it  all,  and  am  not  afraid." 

20 


306  "have  you  ASSrRAKCE?" 

Let  us  listen  to  him  again.  He  looks  hack- 
loard  to  his  ministerial  life,  and  he  does  it 
without  shame.     Hear  what  he  says  : 

"  I  have  fought  a  good  fight."  There  he 
speaks  as  a  soldier.  I  have  fought  that  good 
battle  with  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil, 
from  which  so  many  shrink  and  draw  back. 

''  I  have  finished  my  course."  There  he 
speaks  as  one  who  has  run  for  a  prize.  I  have 
run  the  race  marked  out  for  me.  I  have  gone 
over  the  ground  appointed  for  me,  however 
rough  and  steep.  I  have  not  turned  aside  be- 
cause of  diflS.culties,  nor  been  discouraged  by 
the  length  of  the  way.  I  am  at  last  in  sight 
of  the  goal. 

"  I  have  kept  the  faith."  There  he  speaks 
as  a  steward.  I  have  held  fast  that  glorious 
Gospel,  which  was  committed  to  my  trust.  I 
have  not  mingled  it  with  man's  traditions,  nor 
spoiled  its  simplicity  by  adding  my  own  in- 
ventions, nor  allowed  others  to  adulterate  it 
without  withstanding  them  to  the  face.  "  As 
a  soldier, — a  runner, — a  steward,"  he  seems 
to  say,  "  I  am  not  ashamed." 


"have  you  assueance?" 


307 


Bretliren,  that  Christian  is  happy,  who,  as 
he  quits  this  world,  can  leave  such  testimony 
behind  him.  A  good  conscience  will  save  no 
man, — wash  away  no  sin,  —  nor  lift  us  one 
hair's  breadth  toward  heaven.  Yet,  a  good 
conscience  will  be  found  a  pleasant  visitor  at 
our  bedside  in  a  dying  hour.  Do  you  remem- 
ber that  place  in  Pilgrim's  Progress,  which  de- 
scribes Old  Honest's  passage  across  the  river 
of  death  ?  "  The  river,"  says  Bunyan,  "  at  that 
time  overflowed  its  banks  in  some  places  ;  but 
Mr.  Honest  in  his  life-time  had  spoken  to  one 
Good  Conscience  to  meet  him  there ;  the 
which  he  also  did,  and  lent  him  his  hand,  and 
so  helped  him  over."  Believe  me,  there  is  a 
mine  of  truth  in  that  passage. 

Let  us  hear  the  Apostle  once  more.  He 
looks  forward  to  the  great  day  of  reckoning, 
and  he  does  it  without  doubt.  Mark  his 
words : 

"  Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown 
of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the  right- 
eous Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day ;  and 
not  to  me  only,  but  unto  all  them  also  that 


love  his  appearing."  A  glorious  reward,  he 
seems  to  say,  is  ready  and  laid  up  in  store  for 
me,  even  that  crown  which  is  only  given  to 
the  righteous.  In  the  great  day  of  judgment 
the  Lord  shall  give  this  crown  to  me,  and  to 
all  besides  me  who  have  loved  Him  as  an  un- 
seen Saviour,  and  longed  to  see  Him  face  to 
face.  My  work  on  earth  is  over.  This  one 
thing  now  remains  for  me  to  look  forward  to, 
and  nothing  more. 

You  see,  brethren,  he  speaks  without  any 
hesitation  or  distrust.  He  regards  the  crown 
as  a  sure  thing,  as  his  own  already.  He 
declares  with  unfaltering  confidence  his  firm 
persuasion,  that  the  righteous  Judge  will  give 
it  to  him.  Paul  was  no  stranger  to  all  the 
circumstances  and  accompaniments  of  that 
solemn  day  to  which  he  referred.  The  great 
white  throne, — the  assembled  world, — the  open 
books, — the  revealing  of  all  secrets, — the  lis- 
tening angels, — the  awfal  sentence, — the  eter- 
nal separation  of  the  lost  and  saved, — all  these 
were  things  with  which  he  was  well  acquaint- 
ed.  But  none  of  these  things  moved  him.    His 


strong  faith  overleaped  them  all,  and  only  saw 
Jesus,  his  all-prevailing  Advocate,  and  the 
blood  of  sprinkling,  and  sin  washed  away. 
"  A  crown,"  he  says,  "  is  laid  np  for  me." 
"  The  Lord  Himself  shall  give  it  to  me."  He 
speaks  as  if  he  saw  it  all  with  his  own  eyes. 

Such  are  the  main  things  which  these  verses 
contain.  Of  most  of  them  I  cannot  pretend 
to  speak,  for  time  would  not  allow  me.  I 
shall  only  try  to  set  before  you  one  point  in 
the  passage,  and  that  is,  "the  assured  hope" 
with  which  the  Apostle  looks  forward  to  his 
own  prospects  in  the  day  of  judgment. 

I  shall  do  this  the  more  readily,  because  of 
the  great  importance  which  I  feel  attaches  to 
the  subject,  and  the  great  neglect  with  which, 
I  humbly  conceive,  it  is  often  treated  in  this 
day. 

But  I  shall  do  it  at  the  same  time  with  fear 
and  trembling.  I  feel  that  I  am  treading  on 
very  difficult  ground,  and  that  it  is  easy  to 
speak  rashly  and  unscripturally  in  this  matter. 
The  road  between  truth  and  error  is  here  es- 
pecially a  narrow  pass ;  and  if  I  shall  be  en- 


I 

310  "  HAVE   YOU    ASSUKANCE  ?" 

abled  to  do  good  to  some  without  doing  harm, 
to  others,  I  shall  be  very  thankful. 

'Now  there  are  four  things  I  wish  to  bring 
before  you  in  speaking  of  this  subject,  and  it 
may  clear  our  way  perhaps  if  I  name  them 
to  you  at  once. 

I. — First,  then,  I  will  try  to  show  you  an 
assured  hoj)e,  such  as  Paul  here  expresses,  is  a 
true  and  Scriptural  thing. 

II. — Secondly,  I  will  make  this  broad  con- 
cession, that  a  man  may  never  arrive  at  this  as- 
sured hope^  and  yet  he  saved. 

III. — Thirdly,  I  will  give  you  some  reasons 
why  an  assured  hope  is  exceedingly  to  be  desired. 

IV. — Lastly,  I  will  try  to  point  out  some 
causes  why  an  assured  hope  is  so  seldom  attained. 

I. — First,  then,  I  said,  an  assured  hope  is  a 
true  and  Scriptural  thing. 

Assurance,  such  as  Paul  expresses  in  our 
text,  is  not  a  mere  fancy  or  feeling.  It  is  not 
the  result  of  high  animal  spirits,  or  a  san- 
guine temperament  of  body.  It  is  a  positive 
gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  bestowed  without  ref- 


i— - 


erence  to  men's  bodily  frames  or  constitutions, 
and  a  gift  which  every  believer  in  Christ 
should  aim  at  and  seek  after. 

The  word  of  God  appears  to  me  to  teach, 
that  a  believer  may  arrive  at  an  assured  confi- 
dence with  regard  to  his  own  salvation. 

I  would  lay  it  down  fully  and  broadly,  that 
a  true  Christian,  a  converted  man,  may  reach 
that  comfortable  degree  of  faith  in  Christ,  that 
in  general  he  shall  feel  entirely  confident  as  to 
the  pardon  and  safety  of  his  soul, — shall  sel- 
dom be  troubled  with  doubts, — seldom  be  dis- 
tracted with  hesitation, — seldom  be  distressed 
by  anxious  questionings, — and,  in  short,  though 
vexed  by  many  an  inward  conflict  with  sin, 
shall  look  forward  to  death  without  trembling, 
and  to  judgment  without  dismay.* 

Such  is  my  account  of  assurance.  I  will 
ask  you  to  mark  it  v/ell.  I  say  neither  less 
nor  more  than  I  have  here  laid  down. 


*  "  Full  assurance  that  Christ  hath  delivered  Paul  from 
condemnation,  yea,  so  full  and  real,  as  produceth  thanksgiv- 
ing and  triumphing  in  Christ,  may  and  doth  consist  with 
complaints  and  outcries  of  a  wretched  condition  for  the  in- 


Now  such  a  statement  as  this,  is  often  dis- 
puted and  denied.     Many  cannot  see  it  at  all. 

The  Church  of  Kome  denounces  assurance 
in  the  most  unmeasured  terms.  The  Council 
of  Trent  declare  roundly  that,  a  "  believer's 
assurance  of  the  pardon  of  his  sins  is  a  vain 
and  ungodly  confidence ;"  and  Cardinal  Bel- 
larmine,  the  well-known  champion  of  Koman- 
ism,  calls  it  "a  prime  error  of  heretics." 

The  vast  majority  of  the  worldly  among 
ourselves  oppose  the  doctrine  of  assurance.  It 
offends  and  annoys  them  to  hear  of  it.  They 
do  not  like  others  to  feel  comfortable  and  sure, 
because  they  never  feel  so  themselves.  That 
they  cannot  receive  it,  is  certainly  no  marvel. 

But  there  are  also  some  true  believers  who 
reject  assurance,  or  shrink  from  it  as  a  notion 
fraught  with  danger.  They  consider  it  bor- 
ders on  presumption.  They  seem  to  think  it 
a  proper  humility  never  to  be  confident,  and 
to  live  in  a  certain  degree  of  doubt.  This  is 
to  be  regretted,  and  does  much  harm. 

dwelling  of  the  body  of  sin." — Rutherford's  Triumph  of 
Faith.     1645. 


I  frankly  allow  there  are  some  presumptu- 
ous persons,  who  profess  to  feel  a  confidence, 
for  which  they  have  no  Scriptural  warrant. 
There  always  are  some  people  who  think  well 
of  themselves  when  God  thinks  ill,  just  as 
there  are  some  who  think  ill  of  themselves 
when  God  thinks  well.  There  always  will  be 
such.  There  never  yet  was  a  Scriptural  truth 
without  abuser,  imposition,  and  counterfeits. 
God's  election, — man's  impotence, — salvation 
by  grace,— are  all  alike  abused.  There  will 
be  fan.'scics  and  enthusiasts  as  long  as  the 
world  stands.  But,  for  all  this,  assurance  is  a 
real,  sober,  and  true  thing ;  and  God's  chil- 
dren must  not  let  themselves  be  driven  from 
ihe  use  of  a  truth,  merely  because  it  is 
abused.* 

*  "  We  do  not  vindicate  every  vain  pretender  to  '  the 
witness  of  the  Spirit ;'  we  are  aware  that  there  are  those  in 
whose  professions  of  religion  we  can  see  nothing  but  their 
forwardness  and  confidence  to  recommend  them.  But  let  us 
not  reject  any  doctrine  of  revelation  through  an  over-anxious 
fear  of  consequences." — Robinson's  Christian  System. 

"  True  assurance  is  built  upon  a  Scripture  basis : — pre- 
sumption hath  no  Scripture  to  show  for  its  warrant;  it  is 
like  a  will  without  seal  and  witnesses,  which  is  null  and  void 


314:  "have  you  assurance?" 

My  answer  to  all  wlio  deny  the  existence 
of  real,  well-grounded  assurance,  is  simply 
this, — What  saith  the  Scripture  ?  If  assurance 
be  not  there,  I  have  not  another  word  to  say. 

But  does  not  Job  say,  •'  I  know  that  my  Ee- 
deemer  liveth,  and  that  he  shall  stand  at  the 
latter  day  upon  the  earth ;  and  though  after 
my  skin  worms  destroy  this  body,  yet  in  my 
flesh  shall  I  see  God."  (Job,  xix.  25,  26.) 

Does  not  David  say,  "Though  I  walk  through 
the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear 
no  evil,  for  thou  art  with  me ;  thy  rod  and  thy 
staff  they  comfort  me."  (Psalm  xxiii.  4."^^ 


in  law  :  presumption  wants  both  the  witness  of  the  w^rd, 
and  the  seal  of  the  Spirit.  Assurance  always  keeps  ti>,e 
heart  in  a  lowly  posture ;  but  presumption  is  bred  of  pridt 
Feathers  fly  up,  but  gold  descends ;  he  who  hath  this  golden 
assurance,  his  heart  descends  in  humility." —  ]Vat.so7i's  Body 
of  Divinity.     1650. 

"  Presumption  is  joined  with  looseness  of  life  ;  persuasion 
with  a  tender  conscience :  that  ■dia.ves  sin  because  it  is  sure, 
this  does  not  for  fear  of  losing  assurance.  Persuasion  will 
not  sin,  because  it  cost  her  Saviour  so  dear ;  presumption 
will  sin,  because  grace  doth  abound.  Humility  is  the  way 
to  heaven.  They  that  are  proudly  secure  of  their  going  to 
heaven,  do  not  so  often  come  thither,  as  they  that  are  afraid 
of  going  to  hell." — Andrews  on  ii,  Peter.     1633. 


"have  you  assueance?"  315 

Does  not  Isaiah  say,  "  Thou  wilt  keep  him. 
in  perfect  peace  whose  mind  is  stayed  on  thee, 
because  he  trusteth  in  thee."  (Isaiah,  xxvi.  8.) 

And  again,  "  The  work  of  righteousness 
shall  be  peace,  and  the  effect  of  righteous- 
ness quietness  and  assurance  forever."  (Isaiah, 
xxxii.  17.) 

Does  not  Paul  say  to  the  Eomans,  "  I  am 
persuaded  that  neither  life,  nor  death,  nor  an- 
gels, nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things 
present,  nor  things  to  come ;  nor  height,  nor 
depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be  able  to 
separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."  (Eom.  viii.  88,  89.) 

Does  he  not  say  to  the  Corinthians,  "  We 
know  that  if  our  earthly  house  of  this  taber- 
nacle were  dissolved,  we  have  a  building  of 
God,  an  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal 
in  the  heavens."  (2  Cor.  v.  1.) 

And  again,  "  We  are  always  confident^  know- 
ing that  whilst  we  are  at  home  in  the  body, 
we  are  absent  from  the  Lord."  (2  Cor.  v.  6.) 

Does  he  not  say  to  Timothy,  "  I  know  whom" 
I  have  believed,  and  am  persuaded  that  he  is 


316  "have  you  assurance?" 

able  to  keep  tliat  which  I  have  committed  to 
him."  (2  Tim.  i.  12.) 

And  does  he  not  speak  to  the  Colossians  of 
"  the  full  assurance  of  understanding"  (Coloss. 
ii.  2) ;  and  to  the  Hebrews  of  the  "  full  assu- 
rance of  faith,"  and  the  "  full  assurance  of 
hope."  (Heb.  vi.  11,  and  x.  22.) 

Does  not  Peter  say  expressly,  "  Give  dili 
gence  to  make  your  calling  and  election  swre." 
(2  Peter,  i.  10.) 

Does  not  John  say,  "  We  know  that  we  have 
passed  from  death  unto  life."  (1  John,  iii.  14.) 

And  again,  "  These  things  have  I  written 
unto  you  that  believe  on  the  name  of  the  Son 
of  God,  that  ye  may  know  that  ye  have  eter- 
nal life."  (1  John,  v.  13.) 

And  again,  "We  know  that  we  are  of  God." 
(1  John,  V.  19.) 

Brethren,  what  shall  we  say  to  these  things  ? 
I  desire  to  speak  with  all  humility  on  any  con- 
troverted point.  I  feel  that  I  am  only  a  poor 
fallible  child  of  Adam  myself.  But  I  must 
say,  that  in  the  passages  I  have  just  quoted,  I 
see  something  far  higher  than  the  mere  "  hopes" 


and  "  trusts"  witli  wJhicli  so  many  believers  ap- 
pear content  in  this  day.  I  see  the  language 
of  persuasion,  confidence,  knowledge, — nay,  I 
may  almost  say,  of  certainty.  And  I  feel,  for 
my  own  part,  if  I  may  take  these  Scriptures 
in  their  plain  obvious  meaning,  assurance  is 
true. 

But  my  answer  furthermore  to  all  who  dis- 
like the  doctrine  of  assurance,  as  bordering  on 
presumption,  is  this : — It  can  hardly  be  pre- 
sumption to  tread  in  the  steps  of  Peter,  and 
Paul,  of  Job,  and  of  John.  They  were  all 
eminently  humble  and  lowly-minded  men,  if 
ever  any  were ;  and  yet  they  all  speak  of  their 
own  state  with  an  assured  hope.  Surely  this 
should  teach  us  that  deep  humility  and  strong 
assurance  are  perfectly  compatible,  and  that 
there  is  not  any  necessary  connection  between 
spiritual  confidence  and  pride.^ 

My  answer  furthermore  is,  that  many  have 
attained  to  such  an  assured  hope  as  our  text 

*  "  They  are  quite  mistaken  that  think  faith  and  humiUty 
are  inconsistent ;  they  not  only  agree  well  together,  but  they 
cannot  be  parted." — TrailL 


expresses,  even  in  modern  times.  I  would  not 
concede  for  a  moment  that  it  was  a  peculiar 
privilege  confined  to  the  apostolic  day.  There 
have  been  in  our  own  land  many  believers 
who  have  appeared  to  walk  in  almost  uninter- 
rupted fellowship  with  the  Father  and  the  Son, 
who  have  seemed  to  enjoy  an  almost  unceas- 
ing sense  of  the  light  of  God's  reconciled 
countenance  shining  down  upon  them,  and 
have  left  their  experience  on  record.  I  could 
mention  well-known  names,  if  time  permitted. 
The  thing  has  been,  and  is, — and  that  is 
enough. 

My  answer,  lastly,  is,  it  cannot  be  wrong  to 
feel  confidently  in  a  matter  where  God  speaks 
unconditionally, — to  believe  decidedly  when 
God  promises  decidedly, — to  have  a  sure  per- 
suasion of  pardon  and  peace,  when  we  rest  on 
the  word  and  oath  of  Him  that  never  changes. 
It  is  an  utter  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  be- 
liever who  feels  assurance  is  resting  on  any- 
thing he  sees  in  himself  He  simply  leans  on 
the  Mediator  of  the  New  Covenant,  and  the 
Scripture  of  truth.     He  believes  the  Lord  Je- 


"have  you  assurance?"  319 

sus  means  what  He  says,  and  takes  Him  at 
His  word.  Assurance  after  all  is  no  more 
than  a  fall-grown  faith, — a  masculine  faith 
that  grasps  Christ's  promise  with  both  hands, 
— a  faith  that  argues  like  the  good  centurion, 
if  the  Lord  ''speak  the  word  only,"  I  am 
healed.  Wherefore  then  should  I  doubt?* 
(Matt.  viii.  8.) 

Brethren,  depend  upon  it,  Paul  was  the  last 
man  in  the  world  to  build  his  assurance  on 

*.  "  To  be  assured  of  oxir  salvation,"  Augustine  saith,  '*  is 
no  arrogant  stoutness ;  it  is  our  faith.  It  is  no  pride ;  it  is 
devotion.  It  is  no  presumption  ;  it  is  God's  promise." — 
Bishop  JewelVs  Defence  of  the  Apology.     1570. 

"  If  the  ground  of  our  assurance  rested  in  and  on  our- 
selves, it  might  justly  be  called  presumption ;  but  the  Lord 
and  the  power  of  His  might  being  the  ground  thereof,  they 
either  know  not  what  is  the  might  of  His  power,  or  else  too 
lightly  esteem  it,  who  account  assured  confidence  thereon 
presumption." — Gouge's  Whole  Armor  of  God.     1647. 

"  Upon  what  ground  is  this  certainty  built  ?  Surely  not 
upon  anything  that  is  in  us.  Our  assurance  of  perseverance 
is  grovmded  wholly  upon  God.  If  we  look  upon  ourselves, 
we  see  cause  of  fear  and  doubting ;  but  if  we  look  up  to 
God,  we  shall  find  cause  enough  for  assurance." — Hildersani 
on  iy.  John.     1632. 

"  Our  hope  is  not  himg  upon  such  an  untwisted  thread  as, 
'  I  imagine  so,'  or,  '  it  is  likely  ;'  but  the  cable,  the  strong 
rope  of  our  fastened  anchor,  is  the  oath  and  promise  of  Him 


anything  of  his  own.  He,  who  could  write 
himself  down  "chief  of  sinners,"  (1  Tim.  i.  15) 
had  a  deep  sense  of  his  own  guilt  and  corrup- 
tion ;  but  then  he  had  a  still  deeper  sense  of 
the  length  and  breadth  of  Christ's  righteous- 
ness imputed  to  him.  He,  who  would  cry,  "0 
wretched  man  that  I  am,"  (Kom.  vii.  24)  had 
a  clear  view  of  the  fountain  of  evil  within 
his  heart ;  but  then  he  had  a  still  clearer 
view  of  that  other  fountain,  which  can  remove 
all  sin  and  uncleanness.  He,  who  thought 
himself  "  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints," 
(Ephes.  iii.  8)  had  a  lively  and  abiding  feeling 
of  his  own  weakness  ;  but  he  had  a  still  live- 
lier feeling  that  Christ's  promise,  "  My  sheep 
shall  never  perish,"  (John,  x.  28)  could  not  be 
broken.  Paul  knew,  if  ever  man  did,  that  he 
was  a  poor,  frail  bark,  floating  on  a  stormy 
ocean.  He  saw,  if  any  did,  the  rolling  waves 
and  roaring  tempest  by  which  he  was  surround* 

who  is  eternal  verity  ;  our  salvation  is  fastened  with  God's 
own  hand,  and  Christ's  own  strength,  to  the  strong  stake  of 
God's  unchangeable  nature." — Rutherford's  Letters.     1637. 

(These  precious  letters  are  published  by  R.  Carter  &,  Bro- 
thers.) 


'•HAVE   YOU    ASSURANCE?"  321 

ed.  But  then  he  looked  away  from  self  to  Je- 
sus, and  was  not  afraid.  He  remembered  that 
anchor  within  the  veil,  which  is  both  sure  and 
steadfast.  He  remembered  the  word  and  work, 
and  constant  intercession  of  Him  that  loved 
him  and  gave  Himself  for  him.  And  this  it 
was,  and  nothing  else,  that  enabled  him  to  say 
so  boldly,  "A  crown  is  laid  up  for  me,  and  the 
Lord  shall  give  it  to  me,"  and  to  conclude  so 
surely,  "The  Lord  will  preserve  me,  I  shall 
never  be  confounded."* 

I  may  not  dwell  longer  on  this  part  of  the 
subject.  I  think  you  will  allow  I  have  shown 
ground  for  the  assertion  I  made,  that  assur- 
rance  is  a  true  thing. 

IL  I  pass  on  to  the  second  thing  I  spoke 
of:  I  said,  a  believer  may  never  arrive  at  this 

*  "  Nevei'  did  a  believer  ia  Jesus  Christ  die  or  drown  in 
his  voyage  to  heaven.  They  will  all  be  found  safe  and  sound 
with  the  Lamb  on  Mount  Zion.  Christ  loseth  none  of  them; 
yea,  nothing  of  them.  (John,  vi.  39.)  Not  a  bone  of  a  be- 
liever is  to  be  seen  in  the  field  of  battle.  They  are  all  more 
than  conquerors  through  Him  that  loved  them."  (Rom.  viii. 
zn)— Traill. 

21 


322  "have  you  assurance?" 

assured  liope^  which  Paul  expresses^  and  yet  he 
saved. 

I  grant  this  most  freely.  I  do  not  dispute 
it  for  a  moment.  I  would  not  desire  to  make 
one  contrite  heart  sad  that  God  has  not  made 
"sad,  or  to  discourage  one  fainting  child  of 
Grod,  or  to  leave  the  impression  that  you  have 
no  part  or  lot  in  Christ,  except  you  feel 
assurance. 

A  man  may  have  saving  faith  in  Christ, 
and  yet  never  enjoy  an  assured  hope,  like  the 
Apostle  Paul.  To  believe  and  have  a  glim- 
mering hope  of  acceptance  is  one  thing;  to 
have  joy  and  peace  in  our  believing,  and 
abound  in  hope,  is  quite  another.  All  God's 
children  have  faith :  not  all  have  assurance. 
I  think  this  ought  never  to  be  forgotten. 

I  know  some  great  and  good  men  have 
held  a  different  opinion.  I  believe  that  ex- 
cellent minister,  Hervey,  the  author  of  Theron 
and  Aspasia,  was  one  that  did  not  allow  the 
distinction  I  have  stated.  But  I  desire  to  call 
no  man  master.  I  dread  as  much  as  any  one 
the  idea  of  healing  the  wounds  of  conscience 


slightly ;  but  I  should  think  any  other  view 
than  that  I  have  given,  a  most  Tincomfortable 
Gospel  to  preach,  and  one  very  likely  to  keep 
souls  back  a  long  time  from  the  gate  of  life. 

I  do  not  shrink  from  saying,  that  by  grace 
a  man  may  have  sufficient  faith  to  flee  to 
Christ, — really  to  lay  hold  on  Him,  really  to 
trust  in  Him, — really  to  be  a  child  of  God, 
■ — really  to  be  saved ;  and  yet  to  his  last  day 
be  never  free  from  much  anxiety,  doubt,  and 
fear. 

''A  letter,"  says  an  old  writer,  "may  be 
written,  which  is  not  sealed  ;  so  grace  may  be 
written  in  the  heart,  yet  the  Spirit  may  not 
set  the  seal  of  assurance  to  it." 

A  child  may  be  born  heir  to  a  great  for- 
tune, and  yet  never  be  aware  of  his  riches, — 
live  childish, — die  childish,  and  never  know 
the  greatness  of  his  possessions. 

And  so  also  a  man  may  be  a  babe  in  Christ's 
fa  mi]  3^, — think  as  a  babe,  speak  as  a  babe ; 
and  though  saved,  never  enjoy  a  lively  hope, 
or  know  the  real  privileges  of  his  inheritance. 

Do  not  therefore,  my  brethren,  mistake  my 


meaning,  while  you  hear  me  dwell  strongly  on 
assurance.  Do  not  do  me  the  injustice  to  say, 
I  told  you  none  were  saved  except  such  as 
could  say  with  Paul,  "  I  know  and  am  per- 
suaded,— there  is  a  crown  laid  up  for  me."  I 
do  not  say  so.  I  tell  you  nothing  of  the 
kind. 

Faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  a  man  must 
have,  beyond  all  question,  if  he  is  to  be  saved. 
I  know  of  no  other  way  of  access  to  the 
Father.  I  see  no  intimation  of  mercy,  ex- 
cepting through  Christ.  A  man  must  feel  his 
sins  and  lost  estate, — must  come  to  Jesus  for 
pardon  and  salvation, — must  rest  his  hope  on 
Him  and  on  Him  alone.  But  if  he  only  have 
faith  to  do  this,  however  weak  and  feeble  that 
fiiith  may  be,  I  will  engage,  from  Scriptural 
warrants,  he  shall  not  miss  heaven. 

Never,  never  let  us  curtail  the  freeness  of 
the  glorious  Grospel,  or  clip  its  fair  propor- 
tions. Never  let  us  make  the  gate  more  strait 
and  the  way  more  narrow  than  pride  and 
love  of  sin  have  made  it  already.  The  Lord 
Jesus  is  very  pitiful,  and  of  tender  mercy. 


"have  you  assueance?"  325 

He  does  not  regard  the  quantity  of  faith,  but 
the  quality, — He  does  not  measure  its  degree, 
but  its  truth.  He  will  not  break  any  bruised 
reed,  nor  quench  any  smoking  flax.  He  will 
never  let  it  be  said  that  any  perished  at  the 
foot  of  the  cross.  "  Him  that  cometh  unto 
me,"  He  says,  "I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 
(John,  vi.  87.)-^- 

Yes !  brethren,  though  a  man's  faith  be  no 
bigger  than  a  grain  of  mustard-seed, — if  it 
only  brings  him  to  Christ,  and  enables  him  to 
touch  the  hem  of  His  garment,  he  shall  be 
saved, — saved  as  surely  as  the  oldest  saint  in 
paradise, — saved  as  completely  and  eternally 
as  Peter,  or  John,  or  Paul.  There  are  degrees 
in  our  sanctification.  In  our  justification 
there  are  none.  What  is  written,  is  written, 
and  shall  never  fail ;  "  Whosoever  belie veth 

*  "  He  that  believetli  on  Jesus  shall  never  be  confounded. 
iNever  was  any ;  neither  shall  you,  if  you  believe.  It  was  a 
great  -word  of  faith  spoken  by  a  dying  man,  who  had  been 
converted  in  a  singular  way,  betwixt  his  condemnation  and 
execution :  his  last  words  were  these,  spoken  with  a  mighty 
shout, — '  never  man  perished  with  his  face  towards  Jesus 
Christ;  ''—Traill 


on  Him," — not  whosoever  has  a  strong  and 
mighty  faith, — "  Whosoever  helieveth  on  Him 
shall  not  be  ashamed."     (Rom.  x.  11.) 

But  all  this  time,  I  would  have  you  take 
notice,  the  poor  soul  may  have  no  full  assur- 
ance of  his  pardon  and  acceptance  with  God. 
He  may  be  troubled  with  fear  upon  fear,  and 
doubt  upon  doubt.  He  may  have  many  a 
question,  and  many  an  anxiety, — many  a 
struggle,  and  many  a  misgiving, — clouds  and 
darkness, — storm  and  tempest  to  the  very 
end. 

I  will  engage,  I  repeat,  that  bare  simple 
faith  in  Christ  shall  save  a  man,  though  he 
may  never  attain  to  assurance ;  but  I  will  not 
engage  it  shall  bring  him  to  heaven  with 
strong  and  abounding  consolations.  I  will 
engage  it  shall  land  him  safe  in  harbor,  but  I 
will  not  engage  he  shall  enter  that  harbor 
under  full,  sail,  confident  and  rejoicing.  I 
shall  not  be  surprised  if  he  reaches  his  de- 
sired haven  weather-beaten  and  tempest-tossed, 
scarcely  realizing  his  own  safety  till  he  opens 
his  eyes  in  glory. 


"hate  yotj  assurance?" 


32T 


Brethren,  I  believe  it  is  of  great  importance 
to  keep  in  view  this  distinction  between  faith 
and  assurance.  It  explains  things  which  an 
inquirer  in  religion  sometimes  finds  it  hard 
to  understand. 

Faith,  let  us  remember,  is  the  root,  and  as- 
surance is  the  flower.  Doubtless  you  can  never 
have  the  flower  without  the  root ; — but  it  is 
no  less  certain  you  may  have  the  root  and  not 
the  flower. 

Faith  is  that  poor  trembling  vfoman  that 
came  behind  Jesus  in  the  press,  and  touched 
the  hem  of  His  garment;  (Mark,  v.  25) — Assu- 
rance is  Stephen  standing  calmly  in  the  midst 
of  his  murderers,  and  saying,  "  I  see  the  heav- 
ens opened,  and  the  Son  of  man  standing  on 
the  right  hand  of  God."  (Acts,  vii.  56.) 

Faith  is  the  penitent  thief,  crying,  "Lord, 
remember  me  ;"  (Luke,  xxiii.  42.) — Assurance 
is  Job  sitting  in  the  dust,  covered  with  sores, 
and  saying,  "  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liv- 
eth."  (Job,  xix.  25.)  '^Though  he  slay  me, 
yet  will  I  trust  in  him."  (Job,  xiii.  15.) 

Faith  is  Peter's  drowning  cry,  as  he  began 


328  "have  you  asstjeance?" 

to  sink,  ''  Lord,  save  me !"  (Matt.  xiv.  30.) — 
Assurance  is  that  same  Peter  declaring  before 
the  council  in  after-times,  "This  is  the  stone 
which  was  set  at  nought  by  you  builders, 
Avhich  is  become  the  head  of  the  corner.  Nei- 
ther is  there  salvation  in  any  other  ;  for  there 
is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given  among 
m'en  whereby  we  must  be  saved."  (Acts,  iv. 
11,  12.) 

Faith  is  the  anxious,  trembling  voice,  "Lord, 
I  believe,  help  thou  mine  unbelief;"  (Mark, 
ix.  24.) — Assurance  is  the  confident  challenge, 
"  Who  shall  lay  anything  to  the  charge  of 
God's  elect?  Who  is  he  that  condemneth  ?" 
(Eom.  viii.  33,  3.4.) 

Faith  is  Saul  praying  in  the  house  of  Judas 
at  Damascus,  sorrowful,  blind,  and  alone; 
(Acts,  ix.  11.) — Assurance  is  Paul,  the  aged 
prisoner,  looking  calmly  into  the  grave,  and 
saying,  "I  know  whom  I  have  believed. 
There  is  a  crown  laid  up  for  me."  (2  Tim. 
i.  12  ;  iv.  8.) 

Faith  is  life.  How  great  the  blessing ! 
Who  can  tell  the  gulf  between  life  and  death  ? 


And  yet  life  may  be  weak,  sickly,  unliealtliy, 
painful,  trying,  anxious,  worn,  burdensome, 
joyless,  smileless  to  the  very  end. 

Assurance  is  more  tban  life.  It  is  health, 
strength,  power,  vigor,  activity,  energy,  man- 
liness, beauty. 

Brethren,  it  is  not  a  question  of  saved  or 
not  saved,  that  lies  before  us,  but  of 'privilege 
or  no  privilege  ;  it  is  not  a  question  of  peace 
or  no  peace,  but  of  great  peace  or  little  peace ; 
— it  is  not  a  question  between  the  wanderers 
of  this  world  and  the  school  of  Christ,  it  is 
one  that  belongs  only  to  the  school, — it  is  be- 
tween the  first  form  and  the  last. 

He  that  hath  faith  does  well.  Happy  should 
I  be  if  I  thought  you  all  had  it.  Blessed, 
thrice  blessed  are  they  that  believe.  They 
are  safe.  They  are  washed.  They  are  justi- 
fied. They  are  beyond  the  power  of  hell. 
Satan,  with  all  his  malice,  shall  never  pluck 
them  out  of  Christ's  hand. 

But  he  that  has  assurance  does  far  better, — ■ 
sees  more,  feels  more,  knows  more,  enjoys 
more,  has  more  days  like  those  spoken  of  in 


330  "have  you  assurance?" 

Deuteronomy,  even  "the  days  of  heaven  upon 
the  earth."  (Deut.  xi.  21.)* 

III. — I  pass  on  to  the  third  thing  of  which 
I  spoke  :  I  will  give  you  some  reasons  why  an 
assm^ed  hope  is  exceedingly  to  he  desired. 

I  ask  your  attention  to  this  point  especially. 
I  heartily  wish  that  assurance  was  more  sought 
after  than  it  is.  Too  many  among  those  who 
believe  begin  doubting  and  go  on  doubting, 
live  doubting  and  die  doubting,  and  go  to 
heaven  in  a  kind  of  mist. 

It  will  ill  become  me  to  speak  in  a  slighting 
way  of  "  hopes"  and  "trusts,"  but  I  fear  many 
of  us  sit  down  content  with  them  and  go  no 
further.  I  should  like  to  see  fewer  "  perad- 
ventures"  in  the  Lord's  family,  and  more  who 
could  say,  "  I  know  and  am  persuaded."     Oh! 

*  "  The  greatest  thing  that  we  caa  desire,  next  to  the 
glory  of  God,  is  our  own  salvation  ;  and  the  sweetest  thing 
we  can  desire  is  the  assurance  of  our  salvation.  In  this  Hfe 
we  cannot  get  higher,  than  to  be  assured  of  that  which  in 
the  next  life  is  to  be  enjoyed.  All  saints  shall  enjoy  a  heaven 
when  they  leave  this  earth ;  some  saints  enjoy  a  heaven  while 
they  are  here  on  earth." — Joseph  Caryl.     1653. 


J 

"have   you    xiSSURANCE?"  831 


that  you  would  all  covet  the  best  gifts,  and 
not  be  content  with  less.  You  miss  the  full 
tide  of  blessedness  the  Gospel  was  meant  to 
convey.  You  keep  yourselves  in  a  low  and 
starved  condition  of  soul,  while  your  Lord  is 
saying,  "Eat  and  drink  abundantly,  0  beloved. 
Ask  and  receive,  that  your  joy  may  be  full." 
(Cant.  V.  1.     John,  xvi.  24.) 

1.  Know,  then,  for  one  thing,  assurance  is 
to  be  desired,  because  of  the  present  comfort 
and  peace  it  affords. 

Doubts  and  fears  have  great  power  to  spoil 
the  happiness  of  a  true  believer  in  Christ. 
Uncertainty  and  suspense  are  bad  enough  in 
any  condition, — in  the  matter  of  our  health, 
our  property,  our  families,  our  affections,  our 
earthly  callings, — but  never  vSO  bad  as  in  the 
affairs  of  our  souls.  And  so  long  as  a  believer 
cannot  get  beyond  "  I  hope  and  I  trust,"  he 
manifestly  feels  a  degree  of  uncertainty  about 
his  spiritual  state.  The  very  words  imply  as 
much.  He  says,  "  I  hope,"  because  he  dares 
not  say,  "  I  know." 


Now  assurance,  my  brethren,  goes  far  to  set 
a  child  of  God  free  from  this  painful  kind  of 
bondage,  and  so  ministers  mightily  to  his  com- 
fort. It  enables  him  to  feel  that  the  great 
business  of  life  is  a  settled  business,  the  great 
debt  a  paid  debt,  the  great  disease  a  healed 
disease,  and  the  great  work  a  finished  work ; 
and  all  other  business,  diseases,  debts,  and 
works,  are  then  by  comparison  small.  In  this 
way  assurance  makes  him  patient  in  tribula- 
tion, calm  under  bereavements,  unmoved  in 
sorrow,  not  afraid  of  evil  tidings,  in  every 
condition  content,  for  it  gives  him  a  fixed- 
ness of  heart.  It  sweetens  his  bitter  cups,  it 
lessens  the  burden  of  his  crosses,  it  smooths 
the  rough  places  over  which  he  travels,  it 
lightens  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death. 
It  makes  him  always  feel  that  he  has  some- 
thing solid  beneath  his  feet,  and  something 
firm  under  his  hands ;  a  sure  friend  by  the 
way,  and  a  sure  home  at  the  end."^ 

*  "  It  was  a  saying  of  Bishop  Latimer  to  Ridley,  '  When 
I  live  ia  a  settled  and  steadfast  assurance  about  the  state  of 
my  soul,  methinks  then  I  am  as  bold  as  a  lion.     I  can  laugh 


"have  you  assueance?"  333 

Assurance  will  help  a  man  to  bear  poverty 
and  loss.  It  will  teach  him  to  say,  "  I  know 
that  I  have  in  heaven  a  better  and  more  en- 
during substance.  Silver  and  gold  have  I 
none,  but  grace  and  glory  are  mine,  and  these 
can  never  make  themselves  wings  and  flee 
away.  "  Though  the  fig-tree  shall  not  blossom, 
— yet  I  will  rejoice  in  the  Lord."  (Habak.  iii. 
17,  18.) 

Assurance  will  support  a  child  of  God  under 
the  heaviest  bereavements,  and  assist  him  to 

at  all  trouble ;  no  affliction  daunts  rae.  But  when  I  am 
eclipsed  in  my  comforts,  I  am  of  so  fearful  a  spirit,  that  I 
could  run  into  a  very  mouse-hole.'" — Quoted  by  Christopher 
Love.     1653. 

"  Assurance  will  assist  us  in  all  duties ;  it  will  arm  us 
against  all  temptations ;  it  will  answer  all  objections ;  it  will 
sustain  us  in  all  conditions  in  which  the  saddest  of  times 
can  bring  us.  '  If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  V  " 
— Bishop  Reynolds  on  xiv.  Hosea.     1642. 

"  We  cannot  come  amiss  to  him  that  hath  assurance :  God 
is  his.  Hath  he  lost  a  friend  ? — His  Father  lives.  Hath  he 
lost  an  only  child? — God  hath  given  him  His  only  Son. 
Hath  he  scarcity  of  bread  ? — God  hath  given  him  the  finest 
of  the  wheat,  the  bread  of  life.  Are  his  comforts  gone? — 
He  hath  the  Comforter.  Doth  he  meet  with  storms  ? — He 
knows  where  to  put  in  for  harbor. — God  is  his  portion,  and 
heaven  is  his  haven." — Thomas  Watson.     1662. 


feel  ''it  is  well."  An  assured  soul  will  say, 
"  though  beloved  ones  are  taken  from  me,  yet 
Jesus  is  the  same,  and  is  alive  forevermore. 
Though  my  house  be  not  as  flesh  and  blood 
could  wish,  yet  I  have  an  everlasting  covenant, 
ordered  in  all  things  and  sure."  (2  Kings,  xxiv. 
26 ;  Heb.  xiii.  8 ;  2  Sam.  xxiii.  5.) 

Assurance  will  enable  a  man  to  praise  God, 
and  be  thankful,  even  in  a  prison,  like  Paul 
and  Silas  at  Philippi.  It  can  give  a  believer 
songs  even  in  the  darkest  night,  and  joy  when 
all  things  seem  going  against  him.*  (Job, 
XX xi.  10  ;  Psalm  xlii.  8.) 

Assurance  will  enable  a  man  to  sleep  with 
the  full  prospect  of  execution  on  the  morrow, 


*  These  were  John  Bradford's  words  in  prison,  shortly 
before  his  execution :  "  I  have  no  request  to  make.  If  Queen 
Mary  gives  me  my  life,  I  will  thank  her ;  if  she  will  banish 
me,  I  will  thank  her  ;  if  she  will  burn  me,  I  will  thank  her  ; 
if  she  will  condemn  me  to  perpetual  imprisonment,  I  will 
thank  her." 

This  was  Rutherford's  experience,  when  banished  to  Aber- 
deen :  "  How  blind  are  my  adversaries,  who  sent  me  to  a 
banqueting  house,  and  not  to  a  prison  or  a  place  of  exile." 
"  My  prison  is  a  palace  to  me,  and  Christ's  banqueting 
house." — Letters. 


like  Peter  in  Herod's  dungeon.  It  will  teacli 
him  to  say,  "  I  will  both  lay  me  down  in  peace 
and  sleep,  for  thou,  Lord,  only  makest  me  to 
dwell  in  safety."  (Psalm  iv.  8.) 

Assurance  can  make  a  man  rejoice  to  suffer 
shame  for  Christ's  sake,  as  the  Apostles  did. 
It  will  remind  him  that  he  may  "rejoice  and 
be  exceeding  glad,"  (Matt.  v.  12,)  and  that 
there  is  in  heaven  an  exceeding  weight  of 
glory  that  shall  make  amends  for  all.  (2  Cor. 
iv.  17.) 

Assurance  will  enable  a  believer  to  meet  a 
violent  and  painful  death  without  fear,  as 
Stephen  did  in  the  beginning  of  Christ's 
Church,  and  as  Cranmer,  Eidley,  Latimer,  and 
Taylor  did  in  our  own  land.  It  will  bring  to 
his  heart  the  texts,  "  Be  not  afraid  of  them 
which  kill  the  body,  and  after  that  have  no 
more  that  they  can  do."  (Luke,  xii.  4.)  "Lord 
Jesus,  receive  my  spirit."  (Acts,  vii.  59.)* 

*  These  were  the  last  words  of  Hugh  Mackail  on  the 
scaffold  at  Edinburgh,  1666.  "  Now  1  begin  my  intercourse 
with  God,  which  shall  never  be  broken  off.  Farewell  father 
and  mother,  friends  and  relations  ;  farewell  the  world  and 
all  its  delights ;   farewell,  meat  and  drinks ;  farewell,  sun, 


336  "have  you  asstjeance?" 

Assurance  will  support  a  man  in  pain  and 
sickness,  make  all  his  bed,  smooth  down  his 
dying  pillow.  It  will  enable  him  to  say,  "  If 
my  earthly  house  fail,  I  have  a  building  of 
God."  (2  Cor.  V.  1.)  "  I  desire  to  depart  and 
be  with  Christ."  (Phil.  i.  23.)  ''  My  flesh  and 
my  heart  may  fail,  but  God  is  the  strength  of 
my  heart,  and  my  portion  forever."*  (Psalm 
Ixxiii.  26.) 

Ah!  brethren,  the  comfort  assurance  can 
give  in  the  hour  of  death  is  a  great  point,  de- 
pend upon  it ;  and  never  will  you  think  it  so 
great  as  when  your  turn  comes  to  die. 

moon,  and  stars.  "Welcome,  Grod  and  Father ;  welcome, 
sweet  Lord  Jesus,  the  Mediator  of  the  new  covenant ;  wel- 
come, blessed  Spirit  of  grace  and  God  of  all  consolation  ; 
welcome,  glory ;  welcome,  eternal  life ;  welcome,  death.  0 
Lord,  into  thy  hands  I  commit  my  spirit ;  for  thou  hast  re- 
deemed my  soul,  0  Lord  God  of  trutli." 

*  These  were  Rutherford's  words  on  his  deathbed.  "  0 
that  all  my  brethren  did  know  what  a  master  I  have  served, 
and  what  peace  I  have  this  day  !  I  shall  sleep  in  Christ,  and 
when  I  awake,  I  shall  be  satisfied  with  his  likeness."     1661. 

These  were  Baxter's  words  on  liis  death-bed.  "  I  bless 
God  I  have  a  well-grounded  assurance  of  my  eternal  happi- 
ness, and  great  peace  and  comfort  within."  Towards  the 
close  he  was  asked  how  he  did  ?  The  answer  was,  "Almost 
welL"  1691. 


In  that  awful  hour,  there  are  few  believers 
who  do  not  find  out  the  value  and  privilege 
of  an  assured  hope,  whatever  they  may  have 
thought  about  it  during  their  lives.  General 
"  hopes"  and  ''  trusts"  are  all  very  well  to  live 
upon,  while  the  sun  shines,  and  the  body  is 
strong ;  but  when  you  come  to  die,  you  will 
want  to  be  able  to  say,  "  I  know  and  Ifeel^ 

Believe  me,  Jordan  is  a  cold  stream,  and  we 
have  to  cross  it  alone.  N"©  earthly  friend  can 
help  us.  The  last  enemy,  even  death,  is  a 
strong  foe.  When  our  souls  are  departing 
there  is  no  cordial  like  the  strong  wine  of  as- 
surance. 

There  is  a  beautiful  expression  in  the 
Prayer-book  service  for  the  visitation  of  the 
sick,  "  The  Almighty  Lord,  who  is  the  most 
strong  tower  to  all  them  that  put  trust  in  Him, 
be  now  and  evermore  thy  defence,  and  make 
thee  know  and  feel  that  there  is  none  other 
name  under  heaven,  through  whom  thou 
mayest  receive  health  and  salvation,  but  only 
the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

The  compilers  of  that  service  showed  great 
22 


338  "have  you  assura:nce?" 

wisdom  there.  They  saw  that  when  the  eyes 
grow  dim,  and  the  heart  grows  faint,  and  the 
spirit  is  on  the  eve  of  departing,  there  must 
then  be  hnoiving  and  feeling  what  Christ  has 
done  for  ns,  or  else  there  cannot  be  perfect 
peace.*^ 

2.  Let  me  name  another  thing.  Assurance 
is  to  be  desired,  because  it  tends  to  make  a 
Christian  an  active  worhing  Christian. 

None,  generally  speaking,  do  so  much  for 
Christ  on  earth  as  those  who  enjoy  the  fullest 
confidence  of  a  free  entrance  into  heaven. 
That  sounds  wonderful,  I  dare  say,  but  it  is 
true. 

A  believer  who  lacks  an  assured  hope,  will 
spend  much  of  his  time  in  inward  searchings 
of  heart  about  his  own  state.  Like  a  nervous, 
hypochondriacal  person,  he  will  be  full  of  his 
own  ailments, — his  own  doubtings  and  ques- 

*  "The  least  degree  of  faith  takes  a^vay  the  sting  of 
death,  because  it  takes  away  guilt ;  but  the  full  assurance  of 
faith  breaks  the  very  teeth  and  jaws  of  death,  by  taking 
away  the  fear  and  dread  of  it." — FairclougKs  Sermon  in 
the  Morning  Exercises. 


tionings^ — his  own  conflicts  and  corruptions. 
In  short,  you  will  often  find  he  is  so  taken  up 
with  this  internal  warfare,  that  he  has  little 
leisure  for  other  things,  little  time  to  work  for 
God. 

Now  a  believer,  who  has,  like  Paul,  an  as- 
sured hope,  is  free  from  these  harassing  dis- 
tractions. He  does  not  vex  his  soul  with 
doubts  about  his  own  pardon  and  acceptance. 
He  looks  at  the  everlasting  covenant  sealed 
with  blood,  at  the  finished  work  and  never- 
broken  word  of  his  Lord  and  Saviour,  and 
therefore  counts  his  salvation  a  settled  thing. 
And  thus  he  is  able  to  give  an  undivided  at- 
tention to  the  work  of  the  Lord,  and  so  in  the 
long  run  to  do  more.^ 

*  "  Assurance,  would  make  us  active  and  lively  in  God's 
service ;  it  would  excite  prayer,  quicken  obedience.  Faith 
would  make  us  walk,  but  assurance  would  make  us  run  ;  we 
should  think  we  could  never  do  enough  for  God.  Assm*anee 
would  be  as  wings  to  the  bird,  as  weights  to  the  clock,  to 
set  all  the  wheels  of  obedience  a-rimning." — Thmnas  Watson. 

"  Assurance  will  make  a  man  fervent,  constant,  and  abun- 
dant in  the  work  of  the  Lord.  When  the  assured  Christian 
hath  done  one  work,  he  is  calling  out  for  another.  What  is 
next,  Lord,  says  the  assured  soul ;  what  is  next  ?  An  assured 


340  "have  you  assurance?" 

Take,  for  an  illustration  of  this,  two  English 
emigrants,  and  suppose  them  set  down  side  by 
side  in  ISTew  Zealand  or  Australia.  Give  each 
of  them  a  piece  of  land  to  clear  and  cultivate. 
Let  the  portions  allotted  to  them  be  the  same 
both  in  quantity  and  quality.  Secure  that 
land  to  them  by  every  needful  legal  instru- 
ment,— let  it  be  conveyed  as  freehold  to  them 
and  theirs  for  ever, — let  the  conveyance  be 
publicly  registered,  and  the  property  be  made 
sure  to  them  by  every  deed  and  security  that 
man's  ingenuity  can  devise. 

Suppose  then  that  one  of  them  shall  set  to 
work  to  bring  his  land  into  cultivation,  and 
labor  at  it  day  after  day  without  intermission 
or  cessation. 

Suppose  in  the  meanwhile  that  the  other 
shall  be  continually  leaving  his  work,  and  go- 
ing repeatedly  to  the  public  registry  to  ask 
whether  the  land  really  is  his  own, — whether 

Christian  will  put  his  hand  to  any  work,  he  will  put  his 
neck  to  any  yoke  for  Christ ;  he  never  thinks  he  hath  done 
enough,  he  always  thinks  he  hath  done  too  little,  and  when 
he  hath  done  all  he  can,  he  sits  down,  saying,  I  am  an  un- 
profitable servant." — Thomas  Brooks. 


there  is  not  some  mistake, — whether  after  all 
there  is  not  some  flaw  in  the  legal  instruments 
which  conveyed  it  to  him. 

The  one  shall  never  doubt  his  title,  but  just 
work  diligently  on. 

The  other  shall  hardly  ever  feel  sure  of  his 
title,  and  spend  half  his  time  in  going  to  Syd- 
ney or  Auckland,  with  needless  enquiries 
about  it. 

Which  now  of  these  two  men  will  have 
made  most  progress  in  a  year's  time  ?  Who 
will  have  done  the  most  for  his  land,  got  the 
greatest  breadth  of  soil  under  tillage,  have  the 
best  crops  to  show,  be  altogether  the  most 
prosperous  ? 

You  all  know  as  well  as  I  do.  I  need  not 
supply  an  answer.  There  can  only  be  one 
reply.  Undivided  attention  will  always  at- 
tain the  greatest  success. 

Brethren,  so  will  it  be  in  the  matter  of  our 
title  to  "  mansions  in  the  skies."  JSTone  will 
do  so  much  for  the  Lord  who  bought  him  as 
the  believer  who  sees  his  title  clear,  and  is  not 
distracted  by  unbelieving  hesitations.  The  joy 


8 ^ 


of  the  Lord  will  be  that  man's  strength. 
^'Eestore  nnto  me,"  says  David,  "the  joy  of 
thy  salvation ;  then  will  I  teach  transgressors 
thy  ways."  (Psalm  li.  12.) 

Never  were  there  such  working  Christians 
as  the  Apostles.  They  seemed  to  live  to 
labor  :  Christ's  work  was  truly  their  meat  and 
drink.  They  counted  not  their  lives  dear  to 
themselves.  They  spent  and  were  spent. 
They  laid  down  ease,  health,  worldly  com- 
fort, at  the  foot  of  the  cross.  And  one  grand 
cause  of  this,  I  believe,  was  their  assured 
hope.  They  w^ere  men  who  could  say,  "We 
know  that  we  are  of  God,  and  the  whole  world 
lieth  in  wickedness."     (1  John,  v.  19.) 

8.  Let  me  name  another  thing.  Assurance 
is  to  be  desired,  because  it  tends  to  make  a 
Christian  a  decided  Christian. 

Indecision  and  doubt  about  our  own  state 
in  God's  sight  is  a  grievous  evil,  and  the 
mother  of  many  evils.  It  often  produces  a 
wavering  and  unstable  walk  in  following  the 
Lord.    Assurance  helps  to  cut  many  a  knot, 


and  to  make  the  path  of  Christian  duty  clear 
and  plain. 

Many,  of  whom  we  feel  hopes  that  they  are 
God's  children,  and  have  true  grace,  however 
weak,  are  continually  perplexed  with  doubts 
on  points  of  practice.  "  Should  we  do  such 
and  such  a  thing?  Shall  we  give  up  this 
family  custom?  Ought  we  to  go  into  that 
company  ?  How  shall  we  draw  the  line  about 
visiting  ?  What  is  to  be  the  measure  of  our 
dressing  and  our  entertainments?  Are  we 
never,  under  any  circumstances,  to  dance, 
never  to  tx)uch  a  card,  never  to  attend  parties 
of  pleasure?"  These  are  a  kind  of  questions 
which  seem  to  give  them  constant  trouble. 
And  often,  very  often,  the  simple  root  of  their 
perplexity  is,  that  they  do  not  feel  assured 
they  are  themselves  children  of  God.  They 
have  not  yet  settled  the  point,  which  side  of 
the  gate  they  are  on.  They  do  not  know 
whether  they  are  inside  the  ark  or  not. 

That  a  child  of  God  ought  to  act  in  a  cer- 
tain decided  way,  they  quite  feel,  but  the 
grand  question  is,  "  are  they  children  of  God 


themselves  ?"  If  they  only  felt  they  were  so, 
they  would  go  straightforward,  and  take  a 
decided  line;  but  not  feeling  sure  about  it, 
their  conscience  is  forever  hesitating  and 
coming  to  a  dead  lock.  The  Devil  whispers, 
"  perhaps  after  all  you  are  only  a  hypocrite  ; 
• — what  right  have  you  to  take  a  decided 
course  ?  Wait  till  you  are  really  a  Chris- 
tian." And  this  whisper  too  often  turns  the 
scale,  and  leads  on  to  some  miserable  com- 
promise, or  wretched  conformity  to  the  world. 
Brethren,  I  verily  believe  you  have  here 
one  chief  reason  why  so  many  in  this  day 
are  inconsistent,  trimming,  unsatisfactory,  and 
half-hearted  in  their  conduct  about  the 
world.  Their  faith  fails.  They  feel  no  as- 
surance that  they  are  Christ's,  and  so  feel  a 
hesitancy  about  breaking  with  the  world. 
They  shrink  from  laying  aside  all  the  ways 
of  the  old  man,  because  they  are  not  quite 
confident  they  have  put  on  the  new.  De- 
pend on  it,  one  secret  cause  of  halting  be- 
tween two  opinions  is  want  of  assurance. 
When  people  can  say  decidedly,  "  The  Lord 


"have   YOir  ASSURANCE?"  345 

He  is  the  God,"  tlieir    course  becomes  very 
clear.     (1  Kings,  xviii.  89.) 

Let  me  name  one  thing  more.  Assurance 
is  to  be  desired,  because  it  tends  to  make  the 
holiest  Christians. 

This  too  sounds  wonderful  and  strange,  and 
yet  it  is  true.  It  is  one  of  the  paradoxes  of 
the  Gospel,  contrary,  at  first  sight,  to  reason 
and  common  sense,  and  yet  it  is  a  fact.  Car- 
dinal Bellarmine  was  seldom  more  wide  of 
the  truth  tljan  w^hen  he  said,  "  Assurance 
tends  to  carelessness  and  sloth."  He  that  is 
freely  forgiven  by  Christ  will  always  do 
much  for  Christ's  glory,  and  he  that  enjoys 
the  fullest  assurance  of  this  forgiveness  will 
ordinarily  keep  up  the  closest  walk  with  God. 
It  is  a  faithful  saying  in  1  John,  iii.  3,  "  He 
that  hath  this  hope  in  Him  purifieth  him- 
self, even  as  He  is  pure."  A  hope  that  does 
not  purify  is    a  mockery,  a  delusion,  and  a 


snare.* 


*  "  The  true  assurance  of  salvation  which  the  Spirit  of 
God  hath  wrought  in  any  heart,  hath  that  force  to  restrain 


None  are  so  likely  to  maintain  a  watchful 
guard  over  their  hearts  and  lives  as  those  who 
know  the  comfort  of  living  in  near  commnn- 

a  man  from  looseness  of  life,  and  to  knit  his  heart  in  love 
and  obedience  to  God,  as  nothing  else  hath  in  all  the  world. 
It  is  certainly  either  the  want  of  faith  and  assurance  of  God's 
love,  or  a  false  or  carnal  assurance  of  it,  that  is  the  true 
cause  of  the  Ucentiousness  that  reigns  in  the  world." — H'd- 
dersam  on  51  st  Psalm. 

"  None  walk  so  evenly  with  God  as  they  who  are  assm'ed 
of  the  love  of  God.  Faith  is  the  mother  of  obedience,  and 
sm-eness  of  trust  makes  way  for  strictness  of  Hfe.  When 
men  are  loose  from  Christ,  they  are  loose  in  point  of  duty, 
and  then'  floating  behef  is  soon  discovered  in  their  incon- 
stancy and  unevenness  in  walking.  We  do  not  with 
alacrity  engage  in  that,  of  the  success  of  which  we  are 
doubtful ;  and  therefore,  when  we  know  not  whether  God 
will  accept  us  or  not,  when  we  are  off  and  on  in  point  of 
trust,  we  are  just  so  in  the  course  of  our  lives,  and  serve 
God  by  fits  and  starts.  It  is  the  slander  of  the  world  to 
think  assurance  an  idle  doctrine." — Manton's  Exposition  of 
James.     1660. 

"  Who  is  more  obliged,  or  who  feels  the  obhgation  to  ob- 
servance more  cogently, — the  son  who  knows  his  near  rela- 
tion, and  knows  his  father  loves  him, — or  the  servant  that 
hath  great  reason  to  doubt  it  ?  Fear  is  a  weak  and  im- 
potent principle  in  comparison  of  love.  Terrors  may 
awaken ;  love  enlivens.  Terrors  may  also  "  almost  per- 
suade ;'  love  over-persuades.  Sure  jmi  I  that  a  believer's 
knowledge  that  his  Beloved  is  his,  and  he  is  his  Beloved's, 
(Cant.  vi.  3.)  is  found  by  experience  to  lay  the  most  strong 
and  cogent  obligations  upon  him  to  loyalty  and  faithfulness 


"have  you  assurance?"  34:7 

ion  with  God.  They  feel  their  privilege,  and 
will  fear  losing  it.  They  will  dread  falling 
from  their  high  estate,  and  marring  their  own 
comforts,  by  bringing  clouds  between  them- 
selves and  Christ.  He  that  goes  on  a  journey 
with  little  money  about  him  takes  little 
thought  of  danger,  and  cares  little  how  late 
he  travels.  He,  on  the  contrary,  that  carries 
gold  and  jewels  will  be  a  cautious  traveller ; 
he  will  look  well  to  his  roads,  his  house,  and 
his  company,  and  run  no  risks.  The  fixed 
stars  are  those  that  tremble  most.  The  man 
that  most  fully  enjoys  the  light  of  G-od's  re- 
conciled countenance,   will  be    a  man  trem- 

to  the  Lord  Jesus.  For  as  to  liim  that  believes  Christ  is 
precious  (1  Peter  ii.  7),  so  to  him  that  knows  he  believes, 
Christ  is  so  much  the  more  precious,  even  the  '  chiefest  of 
ten  thousand.'"  (Cant.  v.  10.) — FairclougKs  Sermon  in 
Morning  Exercises.     1660. 

"  Is  it  necessary  that  men  should  be  kept  in  continual 
dread  of  damnation,  in  order  to  render  them  circiunspect 
and  ensure  their  attention  to  duty  ?  Will  not  the  well- 
grounded  expectation  of  heaven  prove  far  more  efficacious  ? 
Love  is  the  noblest  and  strongest  principle  of  obedience : 
nor  can  it  be  but  that  a  sense  of  God's  love  to  us  will  in- 
ci'ease  our  desu'e  to  please  him." — Eobi?ison's  Christian 
System. 


848  "have  you  assurance?" 

blingly  afraid  of  losing  its  blessed  consolations, 
and  jealously  fearful  of  doing  anything  to 
grieve  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Beloved  Brethren,  I  comnaend  these  four 
points  to  your  serious  consideration.  Would 
you  like  to  feel  the  everlasting  arms  around 
you,  and  to  hear  the  voice  of  Jesus  daily 
drawing  nigh  to  your  soul,  and  saying,  "I  am 
thy  salvation  ?" — Would  you  like  to  be  useful 
laborers  in  the  vineyard  in  your  day  and 
generation  ? — Would  you  be  known  of  all 
men  as  bold,  firm,  decided,  single-eyed,  un- 
compromising followers  of  Christ — Would 
you  be  eminently  spiritually-minded  and 
holy  ? — Ah  !  you  will  some  of  you  say, 
"  these  are  the  very  things  our  hearts  desire. 
We  long  for  them.  We  pant  after  them, 
but  they  seem  far  from  us." 

Now,  has  it  never  struck  you  that  your 
neglect  of  assurance  may  possibly  be  the  main 
secret  of  all  your  failures, — that  the  low  meas- 
ure of  faith  which  satisfies  you  may  be  the 
cause  of  your  low  degree  of  peace  ?  Can  you 
think  it  a  strange  thing  that  your  graces  are 


"have  you  assueance?"  349 

faint  and  languisliing,  wlien  faith,  the  root  and 
mother  of  them  all,  is  allowed  to  remain  feeble 
and  weak  ? 

Take  my  advice  this  day.  Seek  an  increase 
of  faith.  Seek  an  assured  hope  of  salvation 
like  the  Apostle  Paul's.  Seek  to  obtain  a 
simple,  childlike  confidence  in  God's  promises. 
Seek  to  be  able  to  say  with  Paul,  *'  I  know 
whom  I  have  believed  ;  I  am  persuaded  that 
He  is  mine,  and  I  am  His." 

You  have  many  of  you  tried  other  ways 
and  methods,  and  completely  failed.  Change 
your  plan.  Go  upon  another  tack.  Lay  aside 
your  doubts.  Lean  more  entirely  on  the 
Lord's  arm.  Begin  with  implicit  trusting. 
Cast  aside  your  faithless  backwardness  to  take 
the  Lord  at  His  word.  Come  and  roll  your- 
self, your  soul,  and  your  sins  upon  your  gra- 
cious Saviour.  Begin  with  simple  believing, 
and  all  other  things  shall  soon  be  added  to 
you.* 

*  "  That  which  breeds  so  much  perplexity,  is,  that  ■we 
would  invert  God's  order,  '  If  I  knew,'  say  some,  *  that 
the  promise  belonged  to  me,  and  Christ  were  a  Saviour  to 
me,  I  could  believe ;'  that  is  to  say,  I  would  first  see,  and 


TV. — I  come  now  to  the  last  thing  of  which 
I  spoke.  I  promised  to  point  out  to  you  some 
probable  causes  luhy  an  assured  hope  is  so  seldom 
attained.     I  will  do  it  very  shortly. 

This,  brethren,  is  a  very  serious  question, 
and  ought  to  raise  in  us  all  great  searchings 
of  heart.  Few,  certainly,  of  Christ's  people 
seem  to  reach  up  to  this  blessed  spirit  of  as- 
surance. Many  comparatively  believe,  but 
few  are  persuaded.  Many  comparatively  have 
saving  faith,  but  few  that  glorious  confidence 
which  shines  forth  in  our  text.  That  such  is 
the  case,  I  think  we  must  all  allow. 

Now,  why  is  this  so? — Why  is  a  thing 
which  two  Apostles  have  strongly  enjoined  us 

then  believe.  But  the  true  method  is  just  the  contrary  ;  '  I 
had  fainted,'  says  David,  '  unless  I  had  believed  to  see  the 
goodness  of  the  Lord.'  He  believed  it  first,  and  saw  it  after- 
ward."— Archbishop  Leighton. 

"  It  is  a  weak  and  ignorant,  but  common  thought  of 
Christians,  that  they  ought  not  to  look  for  heaven,  nor 
trust  Christ  for  eternal  glory,  till  they  be  Avell  advanced  in 
holiness  and  meetness  for  it.  But  as  the  first  sanctitication 
of  our  natures  flows  from  our  faith  and  trust  in  Christ  for 
acceptance,  so  our  further  sanctification  and  meetness  for 
glory  flows  from  the  renewed  and  repeated  exercise  of 
faith  on  him" — Traill. 


"have  you  assurance?"  351 

to  seek  after,  a  thing  of  wliicli  few  believers 
have  any  experimental  knowledge  ?  Why  is 
an  assured  hope  so  rare  ? 

I  desire  to  offer  a  few  suggestions  on  this 
point  with  all  humility.  I  know  that  many 
have  never  attained  assurance,  at  whose  feet  I 
would  gladly  sit  both  in  earth  and  heaven. 
Perhaps  the  Lord  sees  something  in  the  natural 
temperament  of  some  of  His  children,  which 
makes  assurance  not  good  for  them.  Perhaps 
in  order  to  be  kept  in  spiritual  health,  they 
need  to  be  kept  very  low.  God  only  knows. 
Still,  after  every  allowance,  I  fear  there  are 
many  believers  without  an  assured  hope, 
whose  case  may  too  often  be  explained  by 
causes  such  as  these. 

1.  One  most  common  cause,  I  suspect,  is  a 
defective  view  of  the  doctrine  of  justification. 

I  am  inclined  to  think  that  justification  and 
sauctification  are  insensibly  confused  together 
in  the  minds  of  many  believers.  They  receive 
the  Gospel  truth,  that  there  must  be  something 
done  IN  us,  as  Avell  as  something  done  FOB  us, 
if  we  are  true  members  of  Christ ; — and  so 


352  "have  you  ASSURAJSrCE  ?" 

far  they  are  right.  But  then,  without  being 
aware  of  it,  perhaps,  they  seem  to  imbibe  the 
idea,  that  their  justification  is,  in  some  degree, 
affected  by  something  within  themselves. 
They  do  not  clearly  see  that  Christ's  work, 
not  their  own  work, — either  in  whole  or  in 
part,  either  directly  or  indirectly, — is  the  alone 
ground  of  our  acceptance  with  God ; — that 
justification  is  a  thing  entirely  without  us,  for 
which  nothing  whatever  is  needful  on  our  part 
but  simple  faith, — and  that  the  weakest  be- 
liever is  as  fully  and  completely  justified  as  the 
strongest."^ 

Many  appear  to  forget  that  we  are  saved 
and  justified  as  sinners,  and  only  sinners;  and 
that  we  never  can  attain  to  anything  higher, 

*  The  "Westminster  Confession  of  faith  gives  an  admira- 
ble account  of  justification.  "  Those  -whom  God  effectually 
calleth,  He  also  freely  justifieth  ;  not  by  infusing  righteous- 
ness into  them,  but  by  pardoning  their  sins,  and  by  account" 
ing  and  accepting  their  persons  as  righteous  ;  not  for  any- 
thing wrought  in  them  or  done  by  them,  but  for  Christ's 
sake  alone  ;  not  by  imputing  faith  itself,  the  act  of  believ- 
ing, or  any  other  evangelical  obedience,  to  them,  as  their 
righteousness ;  but  by  imputing  the  obedience  and  right- 
eousness of  Christ  unto  them,  they  receiving  and  resting  oa 
him  and  his  righteousness  by  faith," 


"have  TOU  ASSrEANCE  ?"  353 

if  we  live  to  the  age  of  Methuselah.  Redeem- 
ed sinners,  justified  sinners,  and  renewed  sin- 
ners doubtless  we  must  be,  but  sinners,  sin- 
ners, sinners,  always  to  the  very  last.  They 
do  not  seem  to  comprehend  that  there  is  a 
wide  difference  between  our  justification  and 
our  sanctification.  Our  justification  is  a  per- 
fect finished  work,  and  admits  of  no  degrees. 
Our  sanctification  is  imperfect  and  incomplete, 
and  will  be  to  the  last  hour  of  our  life.  They 
appear  to  expect  that  a  believer  may  at  some 
period  of  his  life  be  in  a  measure  free  from 
corruption,  and  attain  to  a  kind  of  inward  per- 
fection. And  not  finding  this  angelic  state  of 
things  in  their  own  hearts,  they  at  once  con- 
clude there  must  be  something  very  wrong  in 
their  state.  And  so  they  go  mourning  all  their 
days, — oppressed  with  fears  that  they  have  no 
part  or  lot  in  Christ,  and  refusing  to  be  com- 
forted. 

My  dear  brethren,  think  of  this.  If  any 
believing  soul  desires  assurance,  and  has  not 
got  it,  let  him  ask  himself  first  of  all,  if  he  is 

quite  sure  he  is  sound  in  the  faith,  if  his  loins 

23 


354  "have  you  assurance?" 

are  thorouglily  girt  about  with  truth,  and  his 
eyes  thoroughly  clear  in  the  matter  of  justifi- 
cation. He  must  know  what  it  is  simply  to 
believe  before  he  can  expect  to  feel  assured. 

Believe  me,  the  old  Galatian  heresy  is  the 
most  fertile  source  of  error,  both  in  doctrine 
and  in  practice.  Seek  clearer  views  of  Christ, 
and  what  Christ  has  done  for  you.  Happy  is 
the  man  who  really  understands  justification 
by  faith  without  the  deeds  of  the  law. 

2.  Another  common  cause  of  the  absence 
of  assurance  is,  slothfulness  about  growth  in 
grace. 

I  suspect  many  true  believers  hold  danger- 
ous and  unscriptural  views  on  this  point ;— I 
do  not  of  course  mean  intentionally,  but  they 
do  hold  them.  Many  appear  to  me  to  think 
that,  once  converted,  they  have  little  m'ore  to 
attend  to,  and  that  a  state  of  salvation  is  a 
kind  of  easy  chair,  in  which  they  may  just  sit 
still,  lie  back,  and  be  happy.  They  seem  to 
fancy  that  grace  is  given  them  that  they  may 
enjoy  it,  and  they  forget  that  it  is  given,  like 


"have  you  assurance ?"  355 

a  talent,  to  be  used,  employed,  and  improved. 
Sucli  persons  lose  sight  of  the  many  direct 
injunctions  "to  increase, — to  grow, — to  abound 
more  and  more, — to  add  to  our  faith, "  and  the 
like,  and  in  this  little-doing  condition,  this  sit- 
ting-still state  of  mind,  I  never  marvel  that 
they  miss  assurance. 

I  believe  it  ought  to  be  our  continual  aim 
and  desire  to  go  forward,  and  our  watchword 
at  the  beginning  of  every  year  should  be,  "  more 
and  more"  (1  Thess.  iv.  1) ;  more  knowledge, 
— more  faith, — more  obedience, — more  love. 
If  we  have  brought  forth  thirty-fold,  we 
should  seek  to  bring  forth  sixty,  and  if  we 
have  brought  forth  sixty,  we  should  strive  to 
bring  forth  a  hundred.  The  will  of  the  Lord 
is  our  sanctification,  and  it  ought  to  be  our 
will  too.  (Matt.  xiii.  23  ;  1  Thess.  iv.  3.) 

One  thing,  at  all  events,  brethren,  you  may 
depend  upon,  there  is  an  inseparable  connec- 
tion between  diligence  and  assurance.  "Give 
(iz'%6?2ce,"  says  Peter,  "to  make  your  calling 
and  election  sure."  (2  Peter  i.  10.)  "  We  de- 
sire," says  Paul,  "that  every  one  of  you  do 


show  the  same  diligence  to  the  full  assurance 
of  hope  unto  the  end."  (Heb.  vi.  11.)  "  The 
soul  of  the  diligentj^  says  Solomon,  "  shall  be 
made  fat."  (Pro v.  xiii.  4.)  There  is  much  truth 
in  the  old  maxim  of  the  Puritans,  "  Faith  of 
adherence  comes  by  hearing,  but  faith  of  assu- 
rance comes  not  without  doings 

Mark  my  words,  any  one  of  you  that  de- 
sires assurance,  and  has  not  got  it.  You  will 
never  get  it  without  diligence,  however  much 
you  may  desire  it.  There  are  no  gains  with- 
out pains  in  spiritual  things,  any  more  than  in 
temporal.  "  The  soul  of  the  sluggard  desireth 
and  hath  nothing."  (Pro v.  xiii.  4.)"^ 

*  "  Whose  fault  is  it  that  thy  interest  in  Christ  is  not 
put  out  of  question  ?  Were  Christians  more  in  self-exami- 
nation, more  close  in  walking  with  God ;  and  if  they  had 
more  near  coimnunion  with  God,  and  were  more  in  acting 
of  faith,  this  shameful  darkness  and  doubting  would  quickly 
vanish," — Traill. 

"  A  lazy  Christian  shall  always  want  four  things,  viz., 
comfort,  content,  confidence,  and  assurance.  God  hath  made 
a  separation  between  joy  and  idleness,  between  assurance 
and  laziness,  and  therefore  it  is  impossible  for  thee  to  bring 
these  together,  that  God  hath  put  so  far  asunder." — Thomas 
Brooks. 

"  Are  you  in  depths  and  doubts,  staggering  and  uncertain, 
not  knowing  what  is  your  condition,  nor  whether  you  have 


8.  Another  common  cause  of  a  want  .of  as- 
surance is,  an  inconsistent  walk  in  life. 

"With  grief  and  sorrow  I  feel  constrained  to 
say,  I  fear  nothing  in  this  day  more  frequently 
prevents  men  attaining  an  assured  hope  than 
this.  The  stream  of  professing  Christianity  is 
far  wider  than  it  formerly  was,  and  I  am  afraid 
we  must  admit  at  the  same  time  it  is  much 
less  deep. 

Inconsistency  of  life  is  utterly  destructive 
of  peace  of  conscience.  The  two  things  are 
incompatible.  They  cannot  and  they  will  not 
go  together. 

K  you  will  have  your  besetting  sins,  and 
cannot  make  up  your  minds  to  give  them  up, 
— if  you  will  shrink  from  cutting  off  the  right 

any  interest  in  the  forgiveness  that  is  of  God  ?  Are  you 
tossed  up  and  down  between  hopes  and  fears,  and  want 
peace,  consolation,  and  establishment  ?  "Why  lie  you  upon 
your  faces  ?  Get  up,  watch,  pray,  fast,  meditate,  offer  vio- 
lence to  your  lusts  and  corruptions  ;  fear  not,  startle  not  at 
their  crying  to  be  spared ;  press  unto  the  throne  of  grace  by 
prayer,  supplications,  importimities,  restless  requests  ;  this 
is  the  way  to  take  the  kingdom  of  God.  These  things  are 
not  peace,  are  not  assurance  ;  but  they  are  part  of  the  means 
God  hath  appointed  for  the  attainment  of  them." — Owen  on 
the  IZOth  Psalm. 


hand  and  plucking  out  the  right  eye,  when 
occasion  requires  it,  I  will  engage  you  will 
have  no  assurance. 

A  vacillating  walk, — a  backwardness  to  take 
a  bold  and  decided  line, — a  readiness  to  con- 
form to  the  world, — a  hesitating  witness  for 
Christ, — a  lingering  tone  of  religion, — all  these 
make  up  a  sure  receipt  for  bringing  a  blight 
upon  the  garden  of  your  soul. 

It  is  vain  to  suppose  you  will  feel  assured 
and  persuaded  of  your  own  pardon  and  ac- 
ceptance with  God,  unless  you  count  all  God's 
commandments  concerning  all  things  to  be 
right,  and  hate  every  sin,  whether  great  or 
small."  (Psalm  cxix.  128.)  One  Achan  al- 
lowed in  the  camp  of  your  heart  will  weaken 
your  hands,  and  lay  your  consolation  low  in 
the  dust.  You  must  be  daily  sowing  to  the 
Spirit,  if  you  are  to  reap  the  witness  of  the 
Spirit.  You  will  not  find  and  feel  that  all  the 
Lord's  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness,  unless 
you  labor  in  all  your  ways  to  please  the 
Lord.* 

*  "Wouldst  thou   have  thy  hope  strong? — Then  keep 


I  bless  God  our  salvation  in  nowise  depends 
on  our  own  works.  By  grace  we  are  saved, — 
not  by  works  of  righteousness, — through  faith, 
— without  the  deeds  of  the  law.  But  I  never 
would  have  any  believer  for  a  moment  forget 
that  our  sense  of  salvation  depends  much  on 
the  manner  of  our  living.  Inconsistency  will 
dim  your  eyes,  and  bring  clouds  between  you 
and  the  sun.  The  sun  is  the  same  behind  the 
clouds,  but  you  will  not  be  able  to  see  its 
brightness  or  enjoy  its  warmth,  and  your  soul 

thy  conscience  pure.  Thou  canst  not  defile  one  without 
•weakening  the  other.  The  godly  person  that  is  loose  and 
careless  in  his  holy  walking,  will  soon  find  his  hope  languish- 
ing. All  sin  disposeth  the  soul  that  tampers  with  it,  to 
trembling  fears  and  shakings  of  heart." — Gurnall. 

"  One  great  and  too  common  cause  of  distress  is  the  secret 
maintaining  some  known  sin.  It  puts  out  the  eye  of  the 
boul,  or  dimmeth  it  and  stupefies  it,  that  it  oan  neither  see 
nor  feel  its  own  condition.  But  especially  it  provoketh 
God  to  withdraw  himself,  his  comforts,  and  the  assistance  of 
his  Spirit." — Baxter's  Saints'  Hest. 

"  The  stars  which  have  least  circuit  are  nearest  the  pole ; 
and  men  whose  hearts  are  least  entangled  with  the  world 
are  always  nearest  to  God,  and  to  the  assm'ance  of  His  favor. 
Worldly  Christians,  remember  this.  You  and  the  world 
must  part,  or  else  assurance  and  your  souls  will  never 
meet." — Thomas  Brooks. 


360  "have  you  assurance?" 

will  be  gloomy  and  cold.  It  is  in  the  path  of 
well  doing  that  the  day-spring  of  assurance 
will  visit  you,  and  shine  down  upon  your 
heart. 

^'  The  secret  of  the  Lord,"  say's  David,  "■  is 
with  them  that  fear  him,  and  he  will  show 
them  his  covenant."  (Psalm  xxv.  14.) 

"  To  him  that  ordereth  his  conversation 
aright,  will  I  show  the  salvation  of  God." 
(Psalm  1.  23.) 

"  Great  peace  have  they  which  love  thy 
law,  and  nothing  shall  offend  them."  (Psalm 
cxix.  165.) 

"If  we  walk  in  the  light,  as  He  is  in  the 
light,  we  have  fellowship  one  with  another." 
(1  John,  i.  7.) 

"Let  us  not  love  in  word,  neither  in  tongue ; 
but  in  deed  and  in  truth  ; 

"  And  hereby  we  know  that  we  are  of  the 
truth,  and  shall  assure  our  hearts  before  Him." 
(1  John,  iii.  18,  19.) 

"  Hereby  do  we  knoio  that  we  know  Him, 
if  we  keep  His  commandments."  (1  John,  ii.  3.) 

Paul  was  a  man  who  exercised  himself  to 


have  always  a  conscience  void  of  offence  to- 
ward God  and  toward  man.  (Acts,  xxiv.  16.) 
He  could  say  with  boldness,  *'  I  have  fought 
the  good  fight,  I  have  kept  the  faith."  I  do 
not  wonder  that  the  Lord  enabled  him  to  add 
with  confidence,  "Henceforth  there  is  a  crown 
laid  up  for  me,  and  the  Lord  shall  give  it  me 
at  that  day." 

Brethren,  if  any  believer  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
desires  assurance,  and  has  not  got  it,  let  him 
think  over  this  point  also.  Let  him  look  at 
his  own  heart,  look  at  his  own  conscience, 
look  at  his  own  life,  look  at  his  own  ways, 
look  at  his  own  home.  And  perhaps  when 
he  has  done  that,  he  will  be  able  to  say,  '^  there 
is  a  cause  why  I  have  no  assured  hope." 

•  JSTow  I  leave  the  three  matters  I  have  just 
mentioned  to  your  own  private  consideration. 
I  am  sure  you  are  worth  examining.  May  you 
all  examine  them  honestly.  And  may  the 
Lord  give  you  understanding  in  all  things. 

And  now,  brethren,  in  closing  this  import- 
ant inquiry,  let  me  speak  first  to  those  among 
you  who  have  not  given  yourselves  to  the 


362  "have  you  assueance?" 

Lord,  who  have  not  yet  come  out  from  the 
world,  chosen  the  good  part,  and  followed  Christ. 

Learn  then,  my  dear  friends,  from  this  sub- 
ject, the  privileges  and  comforts  of  a  true 
Christian. 

I  would  not  have  you  judge  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  by  His  people.  The  best  of  ser- 
vants can  give  you  but  a  faint  idea  of  that 
glorious  Master. '  Neither  would  I  have  you 
judge  of  the  privileges  of  His  kingdom,  by 
the  measure  of  comfort  to  which  many  of  His 
people  attain.  Alas  !  we  are  most  of  us  poor 
creatures.  We  come  short,  very  short,  of  the 
blessedness  we  might  enjoy.  But,  depend 
upon  it^  there  are  glorious  things  in  the  city 
of  our  God,  which  they  who  have  an  assured 
hope  taste  even  in  their  life-time.  There  are 
lengths  and  bieadths  of  peace  and  consolation 
therC;  which  it  ha.s  not  entered  into  your  heart 
to  conceive.  Theie  is  bread  enough  and  to 
spare  in  our  Father's  house,  though  many  of 
us  certainly  eat  but  little  of  it,  and  continue 
weak.  But  the  fault  must  not  be  laid  to  our 
Master's  charge,  it  is  all  our  own. 


"have   YOr   ASSURANCE?"  363 

Andj  after  all,  the  weakest  child  of  God  has 
a  mine  of  comforts  within  him,  of  which  you 
know  nothing.  You  see  the  conflicts  and  toss- 
ings  of  the  surface  of  his  heart,  but  you  see 
not  the  pearls  of  great  price  which  are  hidden 
in  the  depths  below.  The  feeblest  member 
of  Christ  would  not  change  conditions  with 
you.  The  believer  who  possesses  the  least  as- 
surance is  far  better  off  than  you  are.  He 
has  a  hope,  however  faint,  but  you  have  nont 
at  all.  He  has  a  portion  that  will  never  be 
taken  from  him,  a  Saviour  that  will  never  for- 
sake him,  a  treasure  that  fadeth  not  away, 
however  little  he  may  realize  it  all  at  present. 
But,  as  for  you,  if  you  die  as  you  are,  your 
expectations  will  all  perish.  Oh !  that  you 
were  wise !  Oh  !  that  you  understood  these 
things  !  Oh !  that  you  would  consider  your 
latter  end ! 

I  feel  deeply  for  you  in  these  latter  days  of 
the  world,  if  I  ever  did.  I  feel  deeply  for 
those  whose  treasure  is  all  on  earth,  and  whose 
hopes  are  all  on  this  side  the  grave.  Yes! 
when  I  see  old  kingdoms  and  dynasties  shak- 


364  ''have  you  assurance?" 

ing  to  tlie  very  foundation, — when  I  see  kings 
and  princes,  and  ricli  men,  and  great  men 
fleeing  for  their  lives,  and  scarce  knowing 
where  to  hide  their  heads, — when  I  see  pro- 
perty dependent  on  public  confidence  melting 
like  snow  in  spring,  and  public  stocks  and 
funds  losing  their  value, — when  I  see  these 
things,  I  feel  deeply  for  those  who  have  no 
better  portion  than  this  world  can  give  them, 
and  no  place  in  that  kingdom  that  cannot  be 
removed.* 

Take  advice  of  a  minister  of  Christ  this 
very  day.  Seek  durable  riches, — a  treasure 
that  cannot  be  taken  from  you, — a  city  which 
hath  lasting  foundations.  Do  as  the  Apostle 
Paul  did.  Give  yourself  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  seek  that  incorruptible  crown  He 
is  ready  to  bestow.  Take  His  yoke  upon  you, 
and  learn  of  Him.  Come  away  from  a  world 
which  will  never  really  satisfy  you,  and  from 
sin  which  will  bite  like  a  serpent,  if  you  cleave 

*  "  Tliey  are  doubly  miserable  that  have  neither  heaven 
nor  earth,  temporals  nor  eternals,  made  sm'e  to  them  in 
changing  times." — Thomas  Brooks. 


"have   YOF   ASSUEAlfCE?"  365 

to  it,  at  last.  Come  to  the  Lord  Jesus  as  lowly- 
sinners  and  He  will  receive  you,  pardon  you, 
give  you  His  renewing  Spirit,  fill  you  with 
peace.  This  shall  give  you  more  real  comfort 
than  the  world  has  ever  done.  This  is  a  gulf 
in  your  heart  which  nothing  but  the  peace  of 
Christ  can  fill.  Enter  in  and  share  our 
privileges.  Come  with  us  and  sit  down  by 
our  side. 

Lastly,  let  me  turn  to  all  believers  who  read 
these  pages,  and  speak  to  them  a  few  words 
of  brotherly  counsel. 

The  main  thing  that  I  urge  upon  you  is 
this, — if  you  have  not  got  an  assured  hope  of 
your  own  acceptance  in  Christ,  resolve  this 
dav  to  seek  it.  Labor  for  it.  Strive  after  it. 
Pray  for  it.  Give  the  Lord  no  rest  till  you 
know  whom  you  have  believed. 

I  feel  indeed  that  the  small  amount  of  as- 
surance in  this  day,  among  those  who  are 
reckoned  God's  children,  is  a  shame  and  a  re- 
proach. "It  is  a  thing  to  be  heavily  bewail- 
ed," says  old  Traill,  *^  that  many  Christians 


366  "have  you  assuraitce?" 


have  lived  twenty  or  forty  years  since  Cbrist 
called  them  by  His  grace,  yet  doubting  in  their 
life."  Let  us  call  to  mind  the  earnest  "  desire" 
Paul  expresses,  that  "  every  one"  of  the  He- 
brews should  seek  after  fall  assurance ;  and 
let  us  endeavor,  by  God's  blessing,  to  roll  this 
reproach  away.  (Heb.  vi.  11.) 

Brethren,  do  you  really  mean  to  say  that 
you  have  no  desire  to  exchange  hope  for  con- 
fidence, trust  for  persuasion,  uncertainty  for 
knowledge?  Because  weak  faith  will  save 
you,  will  you  therefore  rest  content  with  it  ? 
Because  assurance  is  not  essential  to  your  en- 
trance into  heaven,  will  you  therefore  be  satis- 
fied without  it  upon  earth  ?  Alas !  this  is  not 
a  healthy  state  of  soul  to  be  in ;  this  is  not 
the  mind  of  the  Apostolic  day.  Arise  at  once 
and  go  forward.  Stick  not  at  the  foundations 
of  religion ;  go  on  to  perfection.  Be  not  con- 
tent with  a  day  of  small  things.  Never  de- 
spise it  in  others,  but  never  be  content  with  it 
yourselves. 

Believe  me,  believe  me,  assurance  is  worth 
the  seeking.     You  forsake  your  own  mercies 


when  you  rest  content  without  it.  The  things 
I  speak  are  for  your  peace.  It  is  good  to  be 
sure  in  earthly  things,  how  much  better  is  it 
to  be  sure  in  heavenly  things.  Your  salvation 
is  a  fixed  and  certain  thing.  God  knows  it. 
"Why  should  not  you  seek  to  know  it  too  ? 
There  is  nothing  unscriptural  in  this.  Paul 
never  saw  the  book  of  life,  and  yet  Paul  says, 
"  I  know  and  am  persuaded." 

Make  it  then  your  daily  prayer  that  you 
may  have  an  increase  of  faith.  According  to 
your  faith  will  be  your  peace.  Cultivate  that 
blessed  root  more,  and  sooner  or  later,  by  God's 
blessing,  you  may  hope  to  have  the  flower. 
You  may  not  perhaps  attain  to  fall  assurance 
all  at  once.  It  is  good  sometimes  to  be  kept 
waiting.  We  do  not  value  things  which  we 
get  without  trouble.  But  though  it  tarry,  wait 
for  it.     Seek  on,  and  expect  to  find. 

Another  thing  I  will  name  is  this, — you 
must  not  be  surprised  if  you  have  occasional 
doubts  after  you  have  got  assurance.  You 
must  not  forget  you  are  on  earth,  and  not  yet 
in  heaven.     You  are  still  in  the  body,  and 


368  "have  you  assurance?" 

have  in-dwelling  sin  ;  the  flesh  will  lust  against 
the  spirit  to  the  very  end.  The  leprosy  will 
never  be  out  of  the  walls  of  the  old  house  till 
death  take  it  (Jown.  And  there  is  a  devil  too, 
and  a  strong  devil ;  a  devil  who  tempted  the 
Lord  Jesus,  and  gave  Peter  a  fall ; — and  he 
will  take  care  you  know  it.  Some  doubts 
there  always  will  be.  He  that  never  doubts 
has  nothing  to  lose.  He  that  never  fears  pos- 
sesses nothing  truly  valuable.  He  that  is  ne- 
ver jealous  knows  little  of  deep  love.  But  be 
not  discouraged  ;  you  shall  be  more  than  con- 
querers  through  Him  that  loved  you.* 

Finally,  do  not  forget  that  assurance  is  a 
thing  that  may  be  lost  for  a  season,  even  by 
the  brightest  Christians,  unless  they  care. 

Assurance  is   a  most  delicate    plant.     It 


*  **  None  have  assurance  at  all  times.  As  in  a  walk  that 
is  shaded  with  trees  and  checkered  with  light  and  shadow, 
some  tracts  and  paths  in  it  are  dark,  and  others  are  sunshine : 
such  is  usually  the  life  of  the  most  assured  Christian." — 
Bishop  Hopkins. 

"  It  is  very  suspicious,  that  that  person  is  a  hypocrite, 
that  is  always  in  the  same  frame,  let  him  pretend  it  to  be 
never  so  good." — Traill. 


needs  daily,  hourly  watching,  watering,  tend- 
ing, cherishing.  So  watch  and  pray  the  more 
when  you  have  got  it.  As  "Rutherford  says, 
"  Make  much  of  assurance."  Be  alwaj'^s  upon 
your  guard.  "When  Christian  slept,  in  Pil- 
grim's Progress,  he  lost  his  certificate.  Keep 
that  in  mind 

David  lost  assurance  for  many  months  by 
falling  into  transgression.  Peter  lost  it  when 
he  denied  his  Lord.  Each  found  it  again  un- 
doubtedly, but  not  till  after  bitter  tears.  Spir- 
itual darkness  comes  on  horseback,  and  goes 
away  on  foot.  It  is  upon  us  before  we  know 
that  it  is  coming.  It  leaves  us  slowly,  gradu- 
ally, and  not  till  after  many  days.  It  is  easy 
to  run  down  hill.  It  is  hard  work  to  climb 
up.  So  remember  my  caution,  when  you  have 
the  joy  of  the  Lord,  watch  and  pray. 

Above  all,  grieve  not  the  Spirit.  Quench 
not  the  Spirit.  Vex  not  the  Spirit.  Drive 
Him  not  to  a  distance,  by  tampering  with 
small  bad  habits,  and  little  sins.  Little  jar- 
rings  between  husbands  and  wives  make  un- 
happy homes,  and  petty  inconsistencies,  known 


870  "have  you  assurance?" 

and  allowed,  will  bring  in  a  strangeness  be- 
tween you  and  the  Spirit. 

Hear  the  concTusion  of  the  whole  matter. 

The  man  who  walks  with  God  in  Christ 
most  closely,  will  generally  be  kept  in  the 
greatest  peace. 

The  believer  who  follows  the  Lord  most 
fully,  will  ordinarily  enjoy  the  most  assured 
hope,  and  have  the  clearest  persuasion  of  his 
own  salvation. 


THE  END. 


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